Outsell, Inc. Forecasts the Marketplace for Online Search, Aggregation and Distribution Will Hit $59.6 Billion in Revenue by 2008; Inaugural ''MarketView'' Report Analyzes Companies Including AOL, Google, Yahoo!, and MSN

Business Wire, Oct 25, 2005

BURLINGAME, Calif. -- Outsell, Inc.

WHAT:

Today Outsell, Inc., the leading research and advisory firm for the information industry, launched its inaugural I-Market(SM) MarketView, Search, Aggregation & Distribution Services Segment 2005 -- Search Revolution Fuels Information Industry Upheaval. In it, analysts cite "SADS" as not only the fastest growing, but the most disruptive segment of the $263 billion information industry.

The Search, Aggregation & Distribution Services segment, or "SADS," includes search engines, general aggregators, subscriptions services providers and book distributors, and features newer global players like Chinese search engine SINA in addition to "veteran" U.S. companies like LexisNexis, Dialog and Microsoft (MSN).

So-called "disruptive" companies like Google and Yahoo! have propelled the segment to a 20.5 percent growth rate by making previously inaccessible content available to millions of users, and ultimately, enabled the scaling of the Web. Outsell forecasts that SADS will continue to outperform the general information industry's 9.8 percent growth rate, by growing 18 percent in 2005, and achieving a 17 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2005 through 2008. Revenue projections are $37.6 billion in 2005 and $59.6 billion three years later.

KEY POINTS FROM OUTSELL'S MARKETVIEW:

--Top players. SADS revenue leaders in the search and portal space include AOL, Yahoo!, Google and MSN, followed by Ask Jeeves (now part of IAC), InfoSpace, and SINA. The leaders in licensed content aggregation are Thomson with both Gale and Dialog; Reed Elsevier with LexisNexis; ProQuest; and the Reuters-Dow Jones joint venture, Factiva. In distribution and subscription services, Royal Swets & Zeitlinger, Follett Educational Services, Ingram Book Group, and Baker & Taylor, Inc.-Institution Division take top spots.

--Changing attitudes toward search. Beyond 2005, the core model of general open search will peak and then decline for business-to-business (B2B) use, as users shift to more targeted and effective means of obtaining the precise information that's important to them. Top SADS players will need to respond to new customer demands for proactive personalized content delivery, RSS-powered self-aggregation, specialized vertical search, and content integrated into users' most critical business applications.

The SADS MarketView was created from Outsell analysts tracking over 4,000 publishers and content providers across the information industry, as well as the information consumption and buying patterns of over 40,000 knowledge workers. In addition to financial data, it looks at key trends arising from the reshuffling of user habits, ad spending, and partnerships, driven by the ascendancy of search.

Outsell analysts are available to explain the trends in the new MarketView to journalists. To arrange an interview, please contact Dawn Ringel, Warner Communications, 781-449-8456 or dawn@warnerpr.com. To purchase this 47-page report and to learn more about Outsell, go to www.outsellinc.com or contact Outsell directly at 650-342-6060 or info@outsellinc.com.

ABOUT OUTSELL, INC.:

Outsell, Inc. of Burlingame, CA is the leading research and advisory firm providing actionable market analytics for the information industry. Founded in 1994, Outsell helps publishers, commercial information providers, and content software technology vendors identify, maintain, and grow markets and revenue streams. Outsell also works with information management executives in top corporations, government agencies, and educational institutions to benchmark spending, optimize performance, and demonstrate best practices. Outsell invests heavily in unique information industry data assets that form the core of its high-quality, fact-based research, analysis, and recommendations for clients worldwide.