AWARE Competitive Intelligence Resources
Recommended Web Sites for CI Research

Sites checked: 9 August 2007

Competitive Intelligence Software can help the overall CI process in a number of ways. It can help CI analysts to process their thoughts, access previously gathered information or simplify and even automate competitive intelligence collection. It can also provide a central resource so that information can be entered into the CI database by whoever finds it - whether part of the competitive intelligence department or not. The advantage of this is that it can free the CI analysts from chasing up for input from sales, purchasing, HR and so on. Instead, as information is gathered, it is entered, thereby simplifying the collection process in the overall the CI operation. The role of the CI analyst becomes spotting links, and ensuring that the organization receives a full picture of their competitive position.

All this presumes that there is a CI process available in the first-place. There is no software product that can replace the human aspect of competitive intelligence. This is a pre-requisite, without which competitive intelligence will fail. All that CI software (or any technology promising a panacea for the tasks involved in competitive intelligence) can do is to make an already effective process become more efficient. If the CI process within the organization is not effective then there is a real danger that software will magnify the faults and bring the whole intelligence process into disrepute within the organization.

There are a number of software products that can aid competitive intelligence. These range from tools such as Copernic or DevonAgent - used for enhancing web-searching / desk-top searching; specialist search software (e.g. Autonomy); general database software products (Microsoft Access, Filemaker and other databases); to dedicated competitive intelligence software. Even the dedicated CI software products differ considerably - with some focusing on information collection and some on other parts of the CI process. Pricing also falls into a wide range, and many products are modular - with different pricing depending on the number of modules taken, and the number of users of the product.

Before considering the implementation of a CI software product it is important that a full cost-benefit analysis is undertaken to ensure that the software concerned will enhance, rather than hinder, the CI process.

This should include an examination of the software itself:

• visit reference sites or ensure that you see a fully working copy of the software;
• check that it will fit in and integrate with your existing hardware, software, systems & networks (including any Intranet / Extranet);
• how secure is the system?;
• consider any upgrade paths, and also how often the software itself is enhanced - especially to cope with general computer developments;
• ensure that there is adequate support and training provided by the supplier,

etc.

In addition, it is important to evaluate how the software will alter the current processes used. Will these need to change (and if so, by how much) if the software is to reach its potential - necessitating a change-management process? Ask yourself how you will input current knowhow into the system - as well as future data. How will you get the information out, or find information that has been entered? What else needs to be done to combine the current processes with the software? (Contact us for more information or guidance on CI software and its installation).

The following lists the main competitive intelligence software products on the market.

Topic Index
Dedicated CI Software Products
Other Software of relevance to CI Professionals (e.g. web-tracking alerting services, etc.)
CI Software reviews, etc.

Dedicated CI Software Products

• Digimind - DIGIMIND is a French company and supplies DIGIMIND Evolution, a Competitive Intelligence Management software platform. The platform's approach emphasises the importance of team colloboration for competitive intelligence, with modules for taking feeds from both electronic / secondary sources and field / primary information sources. These can then be assessed and output as a CI deliverable.
• Cipher Systems are the supplier of Knowledge.Works™. Knowledge.Works is a database that aims to support the production of strategic and tactical competitive intelligence. It is designed to help CI professionals find, index, organize and analyse both secondary and primary information sources. It is one of the most sophisticated and advanced CI software products.
• Strategy Software offers Competitor Information Management Systems (CIMS) to help organize information about the competitive environment. Within the UK the company can be contacted via their distributor - AimStrategic. Strategy Software offer a number of software solutions of relevance to CI professionals:
  • Strategy! is a database designed to hold competitive information. Strategy! is the flagship product and is a well-established product within the CI software arena, that takes a database approach to storing competitive intelligence;
  • NewsRoom: A web application aimed at allowing users to organize, manage and read various web sites.
  • IntoAction: Used to give access to authorised reports remotely.
• ComIntell - Knowledge XChanger™ (also known as KXC™) is a web-based, CI software product. It enables users to capture, filter, search, analyse, deliver and share information from both internal and external sources. The information is automatically categorized into a common customized structure, powered by the system's own classification engine.
• Novintel - Novintel is another European CI software producer. Their product The Intelligence Plaza™ is a product that aims to bring structure to the competitive intelligence operation, automating many routines, and thus simplifying some processes.
• Wincite - Wincite and its web-based version eWincite offers a database oriented competitive intelligence solution with topic screens tailored to the specific needs of a business users within a company. Wincite Systems also offer a downsized version of the original Wincite database product called Knowledge Notebooks. This product is targeted toward smaller organisations or organizations who are just starting to build a KM or CI system.
• Competitious - Currently in beta - and currently free, Competitious provides a simple, straightforward web based solution for tracking competition.
• Competitive Vision - CompetitiveVision is a web based solution that proves a way to collect, organize and evaluate competitive information. The system includes standard business frameworks and models helping interpret the information from the raw data.

Other Software of relevance to CI Professionals

• FIZZ - Fizz is a knowledge management system from the UK KM software specialist, Nunwood. It aims to simplify the process of finding intelligence held on company databases, and distribute the relevant data in a range of report formats.
• Copernic - Copernic provides a suite of tools to support online searching. The products range from the free Copernic Agent Basic and Copernic Desktop Search to Copernic Agent Professional which allows advanced meta-searching, including hidden web-searching, followed by a summary of pages found. Searches can be automated - allowing users to repeat searches and track differences.
• DevonAgent and DevonThink are two products designed for Apple computers from DevonTechnologies Inc. DevonAgent offers similar functionality to Copernic for Apple Macs. DevonAgent can be intergrated with the DevonThink product which provides a database storage tool for a multiplicity of documents, which can be searched and indexed and annotated within the package. Combined the two provide a document repository and a record of previous search results, and more. Unfortunately DevonAgent does not yet search within PDF documents effectively, but apart from this it is an invaluable search tool for Apple users.
• Autonomy - offers enterprise level document management solutions allowing companies to process digital information automatically and communicate with multiple systems without the need for manual processing or meta-data.

CI Software reviews, etc.

• Return on Investment From a Competitive Intelligence Software. A white paper that presents a method for assessing the return on investment from a CI project. It has been written by the Digimind consulting team (see above), drawing on their experience in running projects with customers. Digimind have also prepared a number of other white-papers of relevance to the CI community, for example an excellent guide for searching the invisible web.
• Aurora WDC's Software review. In 2004 Aurora reviewed several CI software products and has now made the review available for download.
• Fuld's CI Software Review. Every year the Boston USA-based CI consultancy reviews the main CI software products. The Fuld Intelligence Software Report provides an overview and assessment of a range of competitive intelligence software products.
• Competitive Intelligence Resource Index of CI Software products - A detailed list of products that claim to have relevance to CI. The list is a subset of the much larger CI Resource Index from BIDigital.

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