AIAA Delta Forum 2002
Using the Web for Competitive Intelligence Gathering
by J. Rocker & G.J. Roncaglia (AIAA Paper 2002-0282)
Presented by
JoAnne Rocker
NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program Office
Langley Research Center
AIAA Delta Forum 2002
Topics for Discussion
What Competitive Intelligence is and is not
Why It is Important
Benefits of doing CI
Using the Web for CI
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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What is Competitive Intelligence
• Sometimes referred to as corporate or business intelligence
• Intelligence about market trends, competitor strategies,
government policies, laws, domestic and global events, etc.
• Purpose is to help make strategic decisions
CI Process
Collect
Filter
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
Analyze
Actionable Intelligence
(decision)
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What Competitive Intelligence Is NOT
• Common misconception
- Espionage or spying
• Economic Espionage Act of 1996
- Made it illegal to steal or "appropriate" proprietary information with
penalties of up to 15 years in prison and fines up to $10 million
• Society of Competitive Intelligence Professionals (SCIP)
- Defines CI as, "the legal collection and analysis of information
regarding the capabilities, vulnerabilities, and intentions of business
competitors, conducted by using information databases and other
"open sources" and through ethical inquiry” (http://www.scip.org/)
• Experts estimate
- 95% of the information desired for CI purposes is publicly available*
*(Source: Competitive Intelligence Magazine, v.3(1), pp.37-40
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Why is Competitive Intelligence Important
Competitive playing field has changed over time
• Global marketplace forces companies to find new ways to
differentiate themselves from a larger pool of competitors
• Economic superiority is based on technological innovation and
knowledge industries
• Staying competitive means staying informed of what is going on in
marketplace, customer demands, federal regulations, laws, and
other external factors
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Why is Competitive Intelligence Important (continued)
CI takes the guesswork out of making decision
• Anne Selgas, director of corporate intelligence for Eastman Kodak,
says, "companies that don't use competitive intelligence are running
blind“*
• CI gives corporate decision-makers the insight and knowledge to
make decisions based upon intelligence versus assumptions about
marketplace trends
• CI process provides businesses with an objective intelligence
source - not guesswork
*(Source: Network World, v.15(45), p.42, 1988)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Examples of CI
CI is feedback about*
• Potential alliances for joint ventures, licensing and partnerships
• Potential merger and/or acquisition targets
• Customer needs and wants
• Competitor existence, pricing, products/services, marketing
strategy, production
• Evaluations for offensive/defensive marketplace tactics
• Marketplace trends
• Predicting technology readiness
• Regulatory activities by government, others
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
*(Source: Competitive Intelligence Review, v.9(2), 10-16, 1998)
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Who does CI in a Company
• Most companies do some kind of CI activity – ad hoc basis,
project-based, or continuous program for gathering intelligence
• CI departments found in one or more departments
- Mergers & acquisitions
- Corporate strategy
- Market strategy or market research
- Pricing and yield management
- Business development
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
*(Source: Competitive Intelligence Magazine, 3(2), pp.17-20, 2000)
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Benefits of CI
• Increase chances of success*
- Avoid surprises
- Identify threats and opportunities
- Gain competitive advantage by decreasing reaction time
- Improve planning
- Improve understanding of one’s own company
• Financial Return on Investment (ROI)
- Robert Flynn,former CEO of NutraSweet, says that CI was "worth up
to $50 million per year” to his company+
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
*(Source: Competitive Intelligence. New York: The Conference Board, 1988
+(Source: Network World, v.15(45), p.42, 1988)
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Internet Increases CI Accessibility
• Internet and web-enabled technologies have changed the way companies
do business
- E-business initiatives allow innovative ways to interact with
customers and market new products and services
- Internet levels the competitive playing field; small companies can
compete with larger companies by using the Internet to establish
market niches
• As companies use the Internet as a business tool, more information is
available on the web for CI purposes – websites, news services, etc. –
this information is retrieved, filtered and analyzed to perform the CI
process
• More CI web-enabled tools and services exist today than ever before and
the market is growing for these CI products
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Using the Web for CI
Sources
• Chatrooms, Listservs and newsgroups
• Company websites
• Consultants specializing in CI
• Internet search engines
• Local, government, and state websites
• News services
• Subscription services
• Universities
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Using the Web for CI
Free Information
For-fee Services
Advantages:
No cost (in terms of access)
Relevant information
Broad coverage
Advantages:
Sources verifiable
Specialized information
Reduces searching time
Disadvantages:
Filtering time-consuming (staff time)
Information integrity
(authentication, timeliness)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
Disadvantages:
Cost
Pay for more than need
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Using the Web for CI
Examples of CI resources available on web
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Internet Sources for CI
• Hoover’s Online service (Directory information)
- Company profiles and financial information are available from 12 million
public and private companies from over 300 industries
(http://www.hoovers.com/)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Internet Sources for CI
Chatrooms, Listservs, and Newsgroups
• Discussion groups cover the gamut of interests and what
people say in these virtual spaces can be relevant to
companies
- Employees discussing their work may reveal useful details
about their companies and their technologies
- Customers may complain about the service they received
from a certain company and the quality of the product.
These sites can be monitored for relevant information
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Internet Sources for CI
• Catalist is a site that has cataloged all the public LISTSERV® lists on
the Internet (http://www.lsoft.com/lists/listref.html)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Internet Sources for CI
The government is the largest producer of free information in the U.S.
• Firstgov
- Official government portal to government information, services,
and online transactions; its search engine searches across all
government websites, making it easier to find government
information (http://www.firstgov.gov/)
• U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission website provides
Company financial data (http://www.sec.gov/)
• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website can be used to search for
patents and trademark information (http://www.uspto.gov/)
• Library of Congress’ Thomas site searches Congressional legislation
and proceedings dating back to the 1700’s (http://thomas.loc.gov)
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Internet Sources for CI
Scientific and technical research information is also available
from government agency websites (citations, full-text documents,
fact sheets, etc.)
• DoD’s Defense Technical Information Center (http://www.dtic.mil/)
• DOE’s Office of Science and Technology Information and
Resources (http://www.osti.gov/)
• NIH’s National Library of Medicine’s MedlinePlus
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)
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Internet Sources for CI
• NASA – Scientific and Technical Information Program Office
(http://www.sti.nasa.gov/)
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Internet Sources for CI
• NASA’s Technical Reports Server (http://techreports.larc.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/NTRS)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Internet Sources for CI
Subscription Services
Database providers are often useful sites to use because of they offer
access multidisciplinary information sources through an integrated user
interface, thus making it easier to find information on a wide variety of
topics
• Lexis-Nexis™
- Offers online databases covering legal information, news
sources, company and financial information, and public records
(http://www.lexis-nexis.com/)
• Dialog Corporation™
- Access to suite of web-based products provides access to
business, engineering, medical, news, and technology
information (http://www.dialog.com/)
Rocker, AIAA Paper 2002-0282, Jan 2002
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Conclusions
• CI is available via legal and ethical means – not spying
• CI is critical factor in company’s success – strategic planning and
return on investment (ROI)
• Internet and web-based products can enhance CI data collection
• Advantages and disadvantages of relying on free versus fee
information for CI
• Companies should capitalize on the accessibility of CI and
incorporate CI into strategic planning activities
• Failure to utilize CI will result in missed opportunities and/or
unwelcome surprises
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