Siebel Systems, a leading provider of business applications software, and Fast Search & Transfer (FAST), the leading developer of enterprise search and real-time alerting technologies, today announced that the companies have formed a multi-year partnership. Terms of the agreement involve the integration of FAST InStream within the core Siebel business applications platform, making FAST’s powerful enterprise search capabilities available across Siebel Systems’ family of business applications and hosted solutions. The agreement also provides Siebel Systems the ability to leverage FAST InStream internally. Siebel Systems plans to incorporate FAST search technology into its internal Siebel deployment later this year. FAST InStream, FAST’s OEM enterprise search solution specifically designed for partner solutions, is designed to increase the value of enterprise applications and boost ROI for the partner’s customers by extending the power of FAST ESP technology. Supporting both structured and unstructured data, FAST InStream provides unique value across all types of software applications, including enterprise portals and intranet sites, Enterprise Content and Document Management systems, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) solutions, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solutions, Business Intelligence (BI) suites and applications, as well as Storage and Archiving solutions. The integration of FAST InStream with Siebel business applications will enable a host of innovative new functionality for Siebel customers and will break new ground for CRM while further extending Siebel Systems’ market leadership position. Customers will be able to extend their use of Siebel solutions by integrating existing customer and sales information with information from a range of repositories including databases, Web and intranet pages, and third-party internal file systems. “We are very pleased that Siebel has selected FAST InStream as its embedded search solution, joining market leaders from the Enterprise Content Management and Storage industries,” said Ali I. Riaz, FAST’s chief operating officer. “Our OEM partnership with Siebel further validates FAST’s strategy of working with vendors of structured data-driven applications, as well as unstructured content solutions, such as enterprise content management. Our partnership with Siebel Systems reinforces FAST’s commitment to working with strategic partners and opens the door for FAST across new business application software markets and with leading system integrators, enabling FAST to extend its channels into new areas.” “FAST’s innovation, vision and laser focus on the future of enterprise search is in line with the direction that Siebel wants to take its search and information utilization strategy,” commented Skip Bacon, Vice President of Technology at Siebel Systems. “FAST’s proven track record in enabling complex mission-critical search solutions combined with the richness of the FAST product set provided Siebel the peace of mind that all its search requirements would be met. We are excited about this long-term relationship and have been impressed with FAST’s commitment to Siebel’s success and its continued development of new and innovative search solutions for the marketplace.” The open and modular architecture of FAST InStream provides businesses the utmost flexibility when selecting and deploying search solutions—from specialized search and alerting applications to complete multilingual enterprise search platforms supporting 77 languages. FAST’s powerful solutions enable customers to simply mix and match individual data access modules (Web crawler, file traverser, database connector, and XML converter) for easy integration with enterprise applications, while adding search or data volume capacity and value-add features such as advanced real-time functionality and security options. FAST has transformed enterprise search from a powerful, yet narrowly perceived function, into an enterprise-wide strategic and tactical capability of pivotal importance. FAST ESP and FAST’s portfolio of solutions and Search Derivative Applications (SDAs) supply a complete information retrieval solution ideal for a growing number of key vertical markets and applications including e-Commerce and Internet Portals, Financial Services, Government, Life Sciences, Media and Publishing, and Telecom. For FAST, the search never stops.