Ali I. Riaz Named President of FAST.

OSLO, Norway and NEEDHAM, Mass. -- Fast Search & Transfer(TM) (FAST(TM)), the leading developer of enterprise search and real-time alerting technologies, today announced that Ali. I. Riaz has been named president and chief financial officer. Mr. Riaz previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the company.

"The title of president appropriately reflects Ali's role in our company, and the important strategic responsibilities he has in the overall management of FAST and in our executive relationships with customers and partners," said John M. Lervik, chief executive officer of FAST. Mr. Riaz has served as COO and CFO of FAST during a time of unprecedented growth and success.

"The executive management team of FAST, including CEO John M. Lervik, CTO Bjorn Olstad and me, truly have a great partnership and close working relationship. I look forward with pride to continuing our synchronized efforts, and contributing to FAST's growth as a company and as a world technology leader," said Mr. Riaz.

As president and chief financial officer, Mr. Riaz is responsible for overseeing and implementing both the company's financial and operational strategies. Since joining FAST in 2000, Riaz has helped propel corporate growth both in terms of employees worldwide and revenue, solidifying FAST's position as the global leader in enterprise search. Today, more than 5,000 businesses benefit from FAST search solutions.

A highly regarded thought leader in the IT industry, Riaz has been profiled in the business press and quoted in numerous business and trade publications. He has also been published as a contributing writer in Wireless Business & Technology and New Media Age.

Prior to his role as COO and CFO, Riaz served as vice president of strategy and corporate development at FAST. Before joining FAST, he held executive positions with Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), including vice president for finance and administration for Europe, Middle East and Africa. Riaz has also held several managerial positions at Novartis Pharmaceuticals, where he served as head of planning, information and control and head of global marketing controlling. Riaz holds an MBA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

About FAST

FAST creates the real-time search and filter technology solutions that are behind the scenes at the world's best known companies with the most demanding search problems. FAST's flexible and scalable integrated technology platform elevates the search capabilities of enterprise customers and connects people to the relevant information they seek regardless of medium. This drives revenues and reduces total cost of ownership by effectively leveraging IT infrastructure. FAST's powerful enterprise search technology solutions are used by more than 2,000 global customers and partners, including America Online (AOL), AT&T, Cardinal Health, CareerBuilder.com, Chordiant, CIGNA, CNET, Dell, Factiva, Fidelity Investments, Findexa, IBM, Knight Ridder, LexisNexis, Overture, Rakuten, Reed Elsevier, Reuters, Sensis, Stellent, Tenet Healthcare, Thomas Industrial Networks, T-Online, US Army, Virgilio (Telecom Italia), Vodafone, and Wanadoo.

FAST is headquartered in Norway and is publicly traded under the ticker symbol 'FAST' on the Oslo Stock Exchange. The FAST Group operates globally with presence in Europe, the United States, Asia Pacific, Australia, South America, and the Middle East. For further information about FAST, please visit www.fastsearch.com.

(C) 2005 Fast Search & Transfer ASA - Fast Search & Transfer, FAST, FAST ESP, FAST Data Search, FAST Marketrac, FAST AdVisor, FAST InStream, FAST ImPulse, FAST mSearch, FAST ProPublish and the FAST four-colored logo are trademarks of Fast Search & Transfer ASA. All rights reserved. FAST disclaims any proprietary interest in the marks and names of others. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.