Palo Alto, CA-based Centraal Corp., creator of the RealNames Web page addressing system,
signed a strategic distribution and reseller alliance with Inktomi Corp.
Under the terms of the agreement, Inktomi will license RealNames, making it
available to its portal and other Web site customers. In addition, Inktomi
will enable its search customers to promote RealNames subscriptions through
links embedded in search results.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“The Inktomi alliance is significant to Centraal, both as a market leader’s
endorsement of the RealNames System, and as a catalyst to RealNames
distribution growth on the Internet,” said Keith Teare, founder and chief
executive officer of Centraal. “This agreement allows existing and future
Inktomi customers to easily deploy RealNames functionality in an integrated
fashion, providing users with the benefit of intuitive navigation and
companies with a compelling way to reach their customers.”
“Adding the RealNames capability to Inktomi’s growing set of service options
provides our search customers with another important tool to help their users
quickly and easily find what they’re looking for,” said David Peterschmidt,
Inktomi CEO. “Both companies are committed to improving the Internet
navigation experience. . .and we believe the agreement strengthens Inktomi’s
position as the leading provider of private-label search services.”
The Inktomi alliance follows Centraal’s recent announcement of $13 million in
financing, and a strategic partnership with Network Solutions including a
global sales, marketing and customer service agreement.
Centraal unveiled the Real Name System, a new global naming system for
navigating the Internet, in March 1998 and began its first distribution
partnership with AltaVista last May. Since then, LookSmart has agreed to
distribute the RealNames system on its directory site.
