Nashua, New Hampshire and Needham, Massachusetts, United States and Oslo, Norway
Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), the leading developer of search technologies, and Ayna Corporation, the original provider of information services for Arabic speaking people of the Middle East and North Africa, today announced that Ayna has deployed the FAST Enterprise Search Platform(TM) (FAST ESP(TM)) to power the search for its Arabic Web portal - www.Ayna.com. Possessing the Web's largest online Arab community, Ayna.com now provides its users with the industry's most advanced Web searching capabilities.
Ayna.com was founded in 1997 to provide the Arab community with an Arab-specific portal and search engine. Researchers estimate there are more than 25 million Internet users in the Arab world and that number is expected to achieve rapid exponential growth. In response to growing demand, Ayna.com has developed one of the world's largest Arabic portals, providing search, community tools, up-to-date news feeds and more. Ayna.com currently has 1.7 million registered users, 25 million page views per month and is consistently voted one of the top five Arabic Web sites.
"FAST ESP has given us the tools we need to extend our leadership amongst both regional and global competition and execute on our commitment to be the most comprehensive Arabic-language Web portal available," said Adonis El Fakih, chief executive officer of Ayna.com. "FAST provides us with an extensive set of features built on a highly-scalable search platform that will support the growing demand for personalized search and news retrieval in the Arabic-speaking world."
Ayna.com has deployed FAST ESP to index all Arabic and Arabic-related Web content and serve as the foundation for future customized solutions to support the site's growing community. With FAST ESP, Ayna.com is now providing its visitors with enhanced linguistic capabilities, the ability to view and group content based on personal preferences, pre-programmed search options and the ability to cluster news feeds and more.
"Ayna.com has been delivering content to the Arabic community for almost ten years. This rich history, combined with its new search capabilities, will extend Ayna.com's leadership position as the premier Arabic portal," said John M. Lervik, chief executive officer of FAST. "Companies around the world are turning to FAST to help them deliver the highest-quality search experience to their users, as well as a technology foundation that will scale to support their future growth and success."
About Ayna.com
Ayna, which means "where" in Arabic, is the premier Internet site in the Arabic language serving the Arabic speaking people of the Middle East and North Africa (approximately 280 Million people for both regions). Based in Nashua, NH, USA, with offices in Lebanon and United Arab Emirates. Ayna today is home to one the most active Arabic communities online, helping users find Arabic related resources through its Internet directory and search engine. For more information, please visit: www.ayna.com.
About FAST
FAST is the leading developer of search technologies that are behind the scenes at the world's best known companies with the most demanding search problems. FAST's flexible and scalable enterprise search platform (FAST ESP) elevates the search capabilities of enterprise customers and connects people to the relevant information they seek regardless of medium. This drives revenues and reduces total cost of ownership by effectively leveraging IT infrastructure. FAST's solutions are used by more than 2,600 global customers and partners, including America Online (AOL), Cardinal Health, CareerBuilder.com, Chordiant, CIGNA, CNET, Computer Associates, Dell, EMC Documentum, Factiva, Fidelity Investments, Findexa, IBM, Knight Ridder, LexisNexis, Merrill Lynch, Rakuten, Reed Elsevier, Reuters, Sensis, Stellent, Tenet Healthcare, Thomas Industrial Networks, T-Online, US Army, Virgilio (Telecom Italia), Vodafone, and Wanadoo.
FAST is headquartered in Norway and is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The FAST Group operates globally with presence in Europe, the United States, Asia Pacific, Australia, South America, and the Middle East and Africa. For further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.
(C) 2006 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer, FAST, FAST ESP, Contextual Insight and the FAST logo are trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved.
CONTACT: FAST Brian Greehan +1 781-418-2414 fast@daviesmurphy.com or Carine Zeier (Europe) +47 23 01 12 00 pr@fastsearch.com or Ayna Corporation Adonis El Fakih +1 603-589-8465 CEO adonis@aynacorp.com
CONTACT: FAST Brian Greehan +1 781-418-2414 fast@daviesmurphy.com or Carine Zeier (Europe) +47 23 01 12 00 pr@fastsearch.com or Ayna Corporation Adonis El Fakih +1 603-589-8465 CEO adonis@aynacorp.com , ,
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)