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£74.95 Amazon.co.uk
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$39.50 amazon.com |
Details: |
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ISBN: 1573871737
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Published by Information Today Inc.
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Written by France Bouthillier and Kathleen Shearer
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Book published September 2003
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Other opinions: |
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Review and customer comments at amazon.co.uk
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Title:
Assessing competitive intelligence software: a guide to evaluating CI software 2004
Review:
The scope of Competitive Intelligence (CI) is far wider than just
gathering information about the activities of competitors. An
effective CI operation will instead encompass the skilful management
of information about a range of factors that have an impact on
business performance. It will also include informed analysis and
exploitation of that information in productive decision-making and
action. However, as the volume of information accessible to business
has continued to increase, it has become more difficult for
organisations to discern the valuable nuggets, let alone detect
connections between them. Software packages for competitive
intelligence seek to provide the solution, but how effective are they?
France Bouthillier and Kathleen Shearer explain these issues and
address the above question in this practical combination of textbook
and 'how-to' guide which is a very readable addition to the growing
body of CI-related literature. Its appeal lies in its ability to
inform and educate not only on the evaluation of competitive
intelligence (CI) software, but also on the underlying principles and
processes that transform information into intelligence. It will be of
value to anyone with an interest in the improvement of business
competitiveness, whether SME owner/manager, information professional,
lecturer or student; CI software designers too will find insight
within.
Whilst many conceptual models of CI exist, the authors of this book
demonstrate -- via a strong literature review -- how the competitive
intelligence function is the result of sound information management
combined with smart analysis. This commonsense application of
information management processes to the CI cycle distinguishes
Bouthillier and Shearer's conceptual model from others. Crucially, it
identifies the role of CI software as being more than a tool to save
time and money, but more importantly to add value to basic information
to make it actionable, i.e. prepared for use in effective decision-
making.
From this credible foundation, the authors go on to develop a readily
accessible and logical method for evaluating CI software, with 32
related criteria. The result is a practical checklist for anyone
involved in the process of evaluating software for CI. A discussion of
the evolution of the CI software market follows, before the
application of the criteria to today's leading software applications.
This enables in-depth discussions of the strengths and weaknesses of
each package, although the authors stress that they do not attempt to
make recommendations, rather they seek practical application of their
assessment criteria.
The products to which the evaluation criteria are applied in this book
will develop and change. The real strength of this book lies in its
definition of practical criteria for evaluating CI software, which
will remain valuable for years to come.
Free Pint Reviewer:
Dr Derek Stephens' teaching and research interests at the Department
of Information Science, Loughborough University, include competitive
intelligence and marketing for information professionals. He is
Project Director for the FDTL5 project to enhance the provision of
'skills-based' teaching materials, which focus on the vocational
skills needed for the workplace and complement the academic elements
of the degree.
Dr Stephens has been a manager in a Fortune 500 oil and gas
exploration company in Canada and was previously the Executive
Director of the Atlantic Publishing Association.
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