First Research Expands Focus on Technology, Integration Services

New VP of technology to focus on customized deployment of Industry Intelligence

RALEIGH, NC – August 1, 2006 – First Research Inc., the leading provider of Industry Intelligence, today announced that it has hired Weston Aiken as vice president of technology. Aiken brings nearly a decade of technology and enterprise software experience to First Research. In this new role, Aiken will lead the company’s technology strategy as it continues to build new tools and systems to enhance its product offering.

“We have found that many of our customers are interested in integrating First Research directly into their CRM and SFA applications to further streamline their use of Industry Intelligence throughout the sales process,” said Bobby Martin, First Research president and co-founder. “This is an important step for us as we work to develop improved methods of delivering our solutions in support of sales and marketing professionals.”

As a consultant earlier this year, Aiken led First Research’s efforts to develop an easy and seamless integration of Industry Intelligence into customer Commerce Bank’s existing CRM system. The result was a single, internal resource where Commerce Bank’s bankers can view specific customer information combined with critical information about that customer’s industry. This new custom integration service from First Research is currently available for all customers that wish to take advantage of it.

Building on this success, Aiken will focus on the integration of First Research Industry Intelligence with market leading and custom-built CRM/SFA software applications. His vision for the integrated delivery of First Research Industry Intelligence will allow customers and partners to consume, organize and present First Research Industry Intelligence in formats that best support their needs.

“By providing customers more control over how and where their employees access Industry Intelligence we can offer additional time savings and ease of use in gaining a better understanding of clients’ and prospects’ business needs,” said Aiken.

Aiken’s nine year career includes designing, implementing and delivering enterprise software applications on numerous platforms for such organizations as the U.S. Postal Service and Duke University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from the Cameron School of Business at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and software development certifications from SUN Microsystems and IBM.

About First Research
First Research is the leading provider of Industry Intelligence Tools that help sales and marketing teams perform faster and smarter, open doors and close more deals. First Research performs the “heavy lifting” by synthesizing hundreds of sources into an easy to digest format that can be consumed very quickly to better understand a prospect’s or client’s business issues. Customers include leading companies in banking, accounting, technology, telecommunications, business process outsourcing and professional services such as Bank of America and Merrill Lynch. Used by more than 50,000 sales professionals, First Research can benefit any organization which has prospects in multiple industries. First Research is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, visit www.firstresearch.com.

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Media Contacts:
Kristin W. Bear
Crossroads Public Relations (on behalf of First Research)
(919) 784-0445 (office)
(919) 349-1856 (mobile)
kbear@crossroadspr.com

Shawn Ramsey
Crossroads Public Relations (on behalf of First Research)
(919) 359-0947 (office)
(919) 621-0737 (mobile)
sramsey@crossroadspr.com