Oslo, Norway and Needham, Massachusetts, United States
Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (OSEAX: FAST.OL) (FAST(TM)), the leading developer of enterprise search technologies and solutions, has announced that Times Online has selected the FAST Enterprise Search Platform(TM) (FAST ESP(TM)) to power its new online Travel Channel. The Times Online's combination of strong editorial content with innovative contextual advertising enables it to be the first media owner to categorize and index its travel content in such a sophisticated way - offering the site's users more relevant results and its advertisers greater insight into the preferences of particular target markets.
With the rapid growth of travellers researching and booking their holidays online, users of popular Web portals' search quickly become dissatisfied when the first five pages of results to any travel-associated search are unrelated advertisements for cheap flights or hotels. Times Online Travel Channel is using FAST technology and the FAST Search Best Practices(TM) (FAST SBP(TM)) consultancy services to create a scalable search infrastructure that indexes each piece of editorial, past and present, from The Times, The Sunday Times and Times Online to provide a wide range of relevant intelligence to those researching any destination. As part of the project, Times Online Travel Channel will also provide associated content such as local weather reports and currency and exchange rates.
Anne Spackman, Times Online Editor-In-Chief, said, "FAST's solutions allow all the content on great travel locations and holidays that readers have grown to depend on - from our cache of well-known travel writers and contributors such as Bel Mooney, Dom Joly and Michael Palin - to be easily recalled on site via our optimized search functions. Users can choose holiday information by country, type of holiday and subcategories within each type, such as diving or walking holidays, offering relevant information on the type of holiday you'd really like - all in one place."
In addition to enhancing the experience for its users, Times Online's investment in FAST will create innovative contextual advertising solutions for its advertisers.
Zach Leonard, Digital Media Publisher, Times Online, said "No other media company can offer such a complete package of information to readers. It will act as an invaluable resource while making use of the vast amount of travel information available from The Times, Sunday Times and Times Online. The combination of the power of the channel to amalgamate information and the extremely diverse audience of Times brand readers should prove an extremely successful offering to our advertisers."
"From our vantage point, the Times Online travel site now offers one of the most sophisticated contextual advertising solutions in the travel market today," says John M. Lervik, CEO of FAST. "Times Online has taken full advantage of FAST's robust, highly configurable enterprise search platform to offer an increased level of relevancy of search for its users and to create new opportunities for targeted messaging for advertisers. FAST continues to power innovation across the globe as evidenced by our support for differentiating the Times Online travel brand."
About FAST
FAST is the leading developer of enterprise search technologies and solutions 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 Search & Transfer James McManus 781-418-2414 fast@daviesmurphy.com or Europe Carine Zeier +47 23 01 12 00 +47 48 01 13 47 (MOBILE) pr@fastsearch.com
CONTACT: Fast Search & Transfer James McManus 781-418-2414 fast@daviesmurphy.com or Europe Carine Zeier +47 23 01 12 00 +47 48 01 13 47 (MOBILE) pr@fastsearch.com , ,
Source: Business Wire (Business Wire India)