New ways of gathering and analysing data; transformation from information to knowledge and professional, systematic and strategic approaches to CI; transparency and defense strategies in CI
Nowadays companies experience a so called information overload; we have got too much information and it is crucial to gather, structure, and distribute all information at the right time and to the right people. Competitive Intelligence (CI) is not only market and competitor analysis, but the systematic gathering, analysing and interpreting of data about markets and competition. As opposed to industrial espionage, CI is about using an information channel mix like internet, paid sources, free sources, etc. on a legal base. Especially after the crisis it is very important for global companies to be informed about the new market and competitor situation. Therefore a global and strategic approach is needed, to integrate CI in form of a company wide system. The management of CI is still implemented on a very low level, overall in German companies. Although its importance is accepted, it is often still not adapted appropriately. The US, France and the UK as countries and Pharma as an industry, are traditionally far ahead when it comes to Competitive Intelligence that is why we count in several speakers of all these countries and the Pharma industry at the conference.
