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The International Connection:
Developing and Maintaining a Global Expert Network
The
field of competitive intelligence has become an
increasingly global industry, with CI groups
establishing branch offices in major cities around
the world. The use of subject-matter experts (SMEs)
who can provide the specialized expertise needed to
meet customer strategic research requirements is
particularly important for CI practitioners working
in highly specialized technical fields. And for
Competitive Intelligence groups that provide
early-warning intelligence, having a network of
experts “on the ground” makes it possible to provide
faster, more thorough coverage in real time. In this
article, we'll highlight best practices that will
enable you to create and manage an effective global
competitive intelligence and strategic intelligence
network.
Ten Steps to
Selecting the Right CI Software
Being tasked with
finding the right CI software solution for your
organization can be an overwhelming process. Dealing with prospective
clients on this subject every day, Cipher finds
similar questions need to be asked in every
situation. Here are the ten steps that can assist
you in selecting the right competitive intelligence
software for your organization.
Best Practices of
Providing Competitive Intelligence to Business Units
Although most CI
professionals work in a centralized CI environment,
many of today’s companies are seeking to provide a
more decentralized function, but may not know how.
We’ll look at some of the key challenges faced by
our colleagues in decentralized environments, and
what best practices exist to make this functionality
more successful.
Leveraging
Advances in Technology to Meet CI Conference
Challenges
If you’ve ever been
responsible for coordinating the collection of
Competitive Intelligence during conferences and trade shows, you know how
overwhelming an experience it can be. In this article, Cipher
shares some common issues others have faced, key
lessons learned, and recommendations to make your
own process easier and less stressful.
Why Is RSS Important to You?
RSS technology can
make your job easier by offering some significant
advantages over previous electronic news delivery
methods. This column reviews what RSS is and how you
can use it to simplify the automation of your
everyday information search and retrieval tasks.
See also our white paper: "Content
Syndication Technologies RSS Unmasked"
Avoiding Common CI Pitfalls
The
“controversial” nature of Competitive Intelligence
(CI) seems to be due to a series of common and
recurrent mistakes repeated over time by business
professionals. The following summary provides an
overview of some of the most common pitfalls that
seem to be partially responsible for perpetuating
the controversial “nature” of CI in corporate
organizations. It also provides a few
recommendations to break the cycle and help you
establish a successful strategic research function
in your organization.
Everyday Ethics: The Importance of Documented
Guidelines
Every day we face ethical dilemmas, and we need
guidelines outside of our own moral compass to chart
the right course. This is particularly true in the
field of competitive intelligence (CI). Having a
well-thought-out, documented code of ethics for your
CI function, reviewed and approved by your
organization’s legal counsel, is one of the first
key steps in formalizing guidelines.
Office Content Management
Security
Vast amounts of information are
gathered in the
Competitive
Intelligence industry. This
information is compiled into reports and
communicated to the end user. After this data has
outlived its usefulness it must be disposed of in a
professional, legal, and environmentally safe
manner. This article suggests some best practices in
this area.
Key Steps to
Building an Internal CI Function
There are seven key
steps to implementing a successful Competitive
Intelligence function. Critical success factors
include auditing existing processes, setting
expectation, establishing credibility, acting
ethically, encouraging involvement, showing
progress, highlighting success and choosing the right
staff.
Content Management Security: Treat
Systems Like Your Home
The basic principals of electronic
content management security are partially
physically-driven and partially technology-driven.
They are all underlined by common sense. Following
the tips highlighted in this article will help you
better protect your electronic assets and ensure
they are kept out of the hands of your competitors.
Collection Primer - Capturing Field Competitive Intelligence
Field
personnel are an invaluable source of intelligence. How this information is
elicited will ultimately determine the quality and
usefulness of your data. Based on past experience,
the three critical factors to successfully gain
primary information from field personnel are: elicit
leadership buy in, promote CI efforts mapped to
sales campaigns, and usage of existing communication
channels.
The Cost of News
Subscriptions Got You Down?
Subscription news
services and content aggregators play a major role
in
competitive intelligence and market research.
It is important to assess
your news needs and then look across the full
spectrum of electronic reporting to construct the
best content management plan for your organization.
Is the Perfect
CI Software a Myth?
Does the perfect
competitive intelligence software really
exist? Relying on a survey of fifty Fortune 500
companies, the definition of perfect varies widely
based on certain factors. There are generally two
sets of factors affecting
CI software: organizational and cultural, and
system-centric factors. This article provides a breakdown
of the most prevalent verticals with examples of
leading technology providers. You can map these
verticals to your organizational and cultural, and
system-centric needs to create a
Competitive Intelligence Software blueprint
that best matches your organization’s
competitive intelligence needs.
Results-Driven Intelligence:
Mapping Technology to the CI Value Chain
Useful
competitive intelligence deliverables, as
prepared by research analysts, must adhere to strict
quality and formatting guidelines.
Discussed here are four examples of deliverables
that can be greatly enhanced using today’s latest
technologies: KIT-KIQ framework,
private company profiles,
market assessments, and SWOT analysis.
Applying Process
and Technology to Improve Government Intelligence
Government entities
operating in the public sector face unique
challenges when implementing information management
and decision supporting solutions. Some of these
challenges can be matched up with tools and
techniques used in the
competitive intelligence commercial sector.
Global Research
Methodology: Finding the Facts
As borders open up
and demand for sophisticated western technologies
and practices increase, regions such as Eastern
Europe and Asia-Pacific increasingly become the
targets of interest for US companies looking to
further expand overseas. But, those who want to be
successful in these areas not only have to outsmart
their competitors, they have to understand the
particulars of working in these nations; this
includes understanding government regulations, local
customs, provincial differentiating factors and
more. Consequently, uncovering all of the critical
challenges and opportunities in these nations and
molding competitive intelligence practice to fit the
area under scrutiny are both vital components of
global research.
Digital Dashboard Technology - Visualize the
Possibilities for CI
Digital dashboard
technology – more specifically,
CI dashboard technology – continues to evolve
into a crucial tool to help users visualize and
monitor critical indicators related to
competitor analysis.
The Right Recipe for Next Generation
CI Software
Several CI industry
surveys have been done to evaluate the prevalent
Competitive Intelligence tools available.
These surveys mostly offer a cookie cutter approach
at best. The most important viewpoint missing from
these surveys is that of the CI practitioner.
CI Software
Sanity Check
Competitive intelligence software
is an essential tool in today’s increasingly complex
competitive environment. There are two main
CI software categories available: Enterprise
solutions and stand-alone software. This article
discusses the pros and cons of each type of
Competitive Intelligence Software.
Bridging the Gap Between CI and
Corporate Strategy
Competitive intelligence
continues to struggle in its effort to be recognized
as a mainstream strategic business discipline. CI
professionals must learn how to interject their
daily research activities into the decision-making
process of their respective organizations.
Relevance, Simplicity and Reciprocity
This article discusses the three principals to
establishing an effective Competitive Intelligence
Support System for your sales force. These are:
Provide relevant tactical intelligence that can help
them generate revenue; don’t create any additional
work; and implement an effective incentive system.
Following these tenets will help you establish a
system that will work well for both sides.
Beware, Not All
Intelligence is Created Equal
Different types of
intelligence require different delivery mechanisms.
One of the solutions to delivering effective and
timely intelligence is implementing a delivery
mechanism adapted to each competitive intelligence
category, including recurrent reports, reference
intelligence such as company profiles and strategic
and tactical intelligence, such as M&A due
diligence.
Using Research Templates to Build
Practical Competitive
Intelligence Skills
Strategic competitive research
templates are an extremely effective tool for
building practical CI skills.
Templates can also be used to help analysts publish
professional
competitive intelligence reports that meet
management’s expectations.
Using
Technology to Streamline Your Medical Conference
Collection Process
Medical conferences constitute a
key information source for competitive intelligence
in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.
Effective use of technology can enhance your
competitive intelligence gathering capabilities. This article
highlights the key issues and questions to consider
when you are evaluating a competitive intelligence software package to assist
with your conference collection efforts.
Copyright and the Special Librarian
With the explosion of digital
content over the last few decades, copyright issues
and concerns have grown exponentially. Digital
content often serves to further complicate the
already complex issue of managing copyright
compliance. This article focuses on raising
awareness about the types of digital content that
may require a closer look from a copyright
perspective by a special librarian. We also identify
current views about digital copyright and share
examples and sources that may help today's special
librarians navigate their way through the copyright
maze.
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