Tools for competitive intelligence


Miniera, the Spanish consulting company, has surveyed 149 competitive intelligence (CI) practitioners in Europe, North America, Latin America and the Caribbean to discover what software tools they use to support their work; how they are using open and paid for sources and what devices they are using to access this information.The survey found that CI practitioners are using a variety of software tools including cloud-based software, content management, databases, office packages and visualisation tools.Key findings

  • 67% are using free tools; 53% use commercial tools; 26% use a mixture
  • Searching dominates CI practice, with 48% saying they are searching ‘constantly' as part of the information gathering process
  • 32% say they are ‘constantly' using the tools to filter and receive alerts
  • PCs are the most used devices (78%);mobile and tablets lag behind (the report is unclear on the reasons for this but suggests this may be due to a lack of appropriate apps)
Commercial or free?The most frequently used commercial tools named include: LexisNexis, SharePoint, Salesforce, Intelligence Suite, Excel, Bloomberg, Factiva and Yammer.  Those that are using commercial software tools are looking for features that can support several steps in the intelligence circle.  These people are much more likely to be senior level/CI Directors.  The report features a wordcloud showing the most popular commercial tools.Of the 67% using only free tools, the most frequently used include Google, Google Alerts, Google Reader, RSS, LinkedIn, Twitter and Dropbox.  Europeans are much more likely to only use free tools (48%) than North Americans (25%). Analysts are much more likely to rely on free tools than senior level analysts.The report is available in English and Spanish.[Follow Val Skelton on Google+]

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