Yesterday I posted an aiimALERT on the performance (lack thereof) of FAST in Q2. Subsequent to that, I discovered that in the same relative time frame in which FAST posted its numbers, Autonomy posted its Q1 & Q2 results. This is worth noting as Autonomy had its most successful first half of the year posting in its 11-year history.” Apparently FAST’s yin was Autonomy’s yang. Indeed, whereas at the end of July, FAST stock fell 30%, Autonomy's share price has risen 58% since January.
While Autonomy has a wider portfolio of functionality, to which some of this success can be attributed, Autonomy is still clearly a player in the enterprise search space. I point this out because it underscores the message I stated in yesterday's post, that FAST only has themselves to blame for its poor performance. As indicated by Autonomy, the market for enterprise search itself is/was quite strong.
