Smartlogik Expands Into U.S. Market - Company Business and Marketing

EDP Weekly's IT Monitor, August 6, 2001

Building upon some success in the U.K. and Europe markets, Smartlogik, Inc., an emerging provider of search and categorization solutions, has announced the establishment of its U.S. headquarters. Unlocking the full value of information is critical to the success of any organization in today's Information Age. With Smartlogik's intelligent search and categorization technology, U.S. organizations will now be able to streamline everything from corporate decisions, marketing plans, production schedules and logistical planning.

Smartlogik's unique software, backed by its professional service team of information architects, helps Global 2000 companies easily manage and access unorganized, unstructured information from a variety of different and often disparate sources. Smartlogik is empowering U.S. companies like Thomson ISI to sort and organize key corporate information. Additionally, Smartlogik has partnered with SAIC, a FORTUNE 500 systems integrator, to offer tailored content management packages to U.S. government agencies, institutions and corporations.

Professionals now have access to more news, competitive updates and industry developments than ever before. Yet without a way to effectively organize and access this content, the potential for dramatic cost savings and real competitive advantage remains locked within this mountain of information. This is spurring corporations on to building Web-based intranets and corporate portals to unlock this considerable value. Smartlogik technology powers these intranets and portals by providing the search and categorization tools needed to organize and search unstructured information, enabling anyone who can ask a question to find the precise information they need.

Smartlogik provides knowledge retrieval and categorization software that European customers such as the BBC, British House of Parliament, British Yellow Pages, Danish Department of Foreign Affairs and Orange Telecom's Ananova.com depend upon to deliver the right piece of information to the right user at the right time.

"To help manage information overload among employees, Global 2000 corporations will continue to increase their investment in portal software, spending $1.9 billion in 2003," said Larry Hawes, analyst for the Delphi Group. "The portals that these organizations will deploy must provide content categorization and search functionality that enables individual employees and external stakeholders to find the specific content they need. Smartlogik is addressing this critical portal requirement with advanced, scalable technology."

Smartlogik stands apart from other vendors due to its unique approach to information management. While "automation" technology on its own is capable of giving users access to information, unlocking the full value of an organization's information requires the ability to leverage the insight of information architects with the unique expertise that exists within every organization.

To meet an organization's information management requirements, automated search technology alone is simply unable to deliver the outcomes required to dramatically reduce costs or create real competitive advantage. To do this, the search technology needs to be enhanced with flexible categorization and the human insight and expertise necessary to tailor an information management solution to meet the unique needs of each and every organization. Smartlogik's information architects work with each customer to integrate, configure and customize the solution to meet the organization's individual needs to a degree unmatched by any other vendor. For VARs, SIs and OEMs, Smartlogik architects provide training, coaching and support to help partners deploy and maintain the search and categorization technology. As each organization's information, terminology and content evolve, Smartlogik's professionals can also help customers and partners update their search and categorization software. This combination of technology and service ensures customers continue to have content management technology that evolves with the changing needs of their organization.

"While demand for content management technology continues to grow among Global 2000 corporations, these organizations need applications that can be tailored to fit their individual information needs and infrastructure," said Stephen Hill, Smartlogik CEO. "Rather than take a one-size-fits-all approach, our technology stands apart by providing the flexibility and scalability that today's multinational businesses demand. Additionally, we provide the professional service and expert support to ensure our customers and partners can maintain and adapt the technology as their information needs change -- a capability unmatched by any other vendor."

Smartlogik sells its technology primarily via a "sell through" distribution model. "Our approach to partnering is the polar opposite to that of many of our competitors," explained Martin Garland, President Smartlogik (US) Inc. "We aim to make our partners more successful by working hand-in-hand with them to bring new business to the table. Instead of running around and signing up as many partners as we can, we work closely with a select group of third parties to drive real business through each and every partnership."