Yankee Group Report Examines Consolidation of the Web-Search Market.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 19, 2003

The Web-search market has consolidated, and three large competitors--Yahoo!, Overture, and Google--have emerged as the dominant forces in the space. The Yankee Group report, "Mass Consolidation Hits

The Web search market is as mature as any other Internet-based sector, with some vendors dating back to the early 1990s. Many small vendors have come and gone, and the larger vendors have had to continually adapt to fluid market conditions.

Market watchers can make many assumptions about the continued consolidation in the Web search space. However, the recent transactions can be directly tied to two defining events: 1) the consumer portal "wars" between 1999 and 2001, and 2) the decline of dot-com-driven technology markets.

The report offers insight into the breakup of Inktomi, and Overture's acquisitions of AltaVista and FAST's Web-search businesses. It also offers Yankee Group perspectives on the future of the search market, and the vendors that remain.

"The recent string of Web-search acquisitions represents the last significant round of consolidation the market is likely to see," says Rob Lancaster, Yankee Group Internet Business Strategies senior analyst. "The market's merger-and-acquisition activity represents the final stages of a consolidation that began several years ago when early search engines started to compete for traffic and gave away content."

NOTE TO EDITORS

For interviews, contact Rob Lancaster, rlancaster@yankeegroup.com.

CORPORATE CONTACT

Kim Vranas, Director of Marketing, 617-880-0214, kvranas@yankeegroup.com.

The Yankee Group (http://www.yankeegroup.com)

The Yankee Group is a global leader in technology research, analysis, and consulting. The company helps businesses understand the opportunities, risks, and competitive pressures of developing, deploying, and consuming products and services that drive communication or information exchange. Now in its fourth decade, the Yankee Group is based in Boston with offices throughout North America, Europe, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim.