Two survivors of the dot-com shakedown are pulling their rafts together a little tighter.
One-time tech heavyweight Inktomi said Monday it is in a deal to bundle its search platform with Interwoven’s
XML-centric content management software… and vice-a-versa.
The companies expect to make the new joint offerings generally available the second half of 2002.
Foster City, Calif.-based Inktomi and Interwoven currently have a joint offering that lets joint customers index and search content published by Interwoven TeamSite software and Interwoven MetaTagger via Inktomi Enterprise Search. Under this new alliance, Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Interwoven said it would mix in its next-generation XML-based search technology from Inktomi into its enterprise content management platform to expand search functionality within the TeamSite environment.
The companies say the solution gives customers a “holistic” approach to managing their knowledge assets.
“As unstructured content continues to grow in volume and importance within the enterprise, tighter integration across the information management systems that handle these critical documents is imperative,” said Troy Toman, vice president and general manager, Inktomi Enterprise Search Solutions. “We are pleased to expand our alliance with Interwoven, a leader in enterprise content management, forging ahead in delivering a combined solution that enables enterprises to address the entire content lifecycle.”
In addition, Inktomi will integrate new MetaTagger categorization technology from Interwoven into its enterprise search platform for a combined categorization and search solution.
“Inktomi’s proven search technology is a top choice among leading enterprise customers worldwide, selected for its ability to deliver robust information retrieval capabilities while requiring minimal IT resources,” said John Van Siclen, COO of Interwoven. “With this expanded alliance, Interwoven is pleased to be able to offer its customers the most complete search and retrieval solution on the market today, one that augments meaningful search results with our award-winning categorization technology, allowing users to find the information they need to be more productive and ultimately affect bottom-line results.”
Both companies are working to maintain their position in the mind of IT managers. Once the jewel of the Yahoo! search engine, Inktomi has pushed its way back with new products like its new Personal Edge software suite.
But the company said late Wednesday that its second-quarter revenue to be about 25 percent shy of what it had originally participated. Inktomi stock was down 11 cents to sit at $2.90 on Friday.
Interwoven has had a bit easier time, stuffing its portfolio with customers like Cisco, AT&T, Nortel, Federal Express, and Gap, Inc. But, the company suffered a major blow with the recent departure of its founder and chairman of the board Peng T. Ong.
However, the company’s stock took a beating after several application companies posted warnings. Interwoven’s stock slipped 9 percent to $5.05 by the end of the week.
While the deal is not a make-or-break effort by either company, analysts say being joined at the hip doesn’t hurt.
“The new alliance further demonstrates that Inktomi and Interwoven recognize that successful businesses will be led by productive knowledge workers empowered with a completely integrated information management solution,” said Rob Perry, senior analyst with the Yankee Group.
