The 12 Applications Priorities for Competitive Intelligence in the Modern Business Enterprise

by Arik Johnson

If asked, just about any manager today could define competitive intelligence (CI). You should expect to hear responses ranging from "stealing business secrets" and "industrial espionage" coming from the truly deluded to a more accurate "collection and analysis of competitor behavior and plans" from those better informed. But CI has a much broader range of priorities than simply understanding competitor behavior, although that mission remains a key objective. Its influence and usefulness show up in many firms in areas traditionally served by existing silos of functionality that sometimes take offense at CI playing in their sandbox. In the pharmaceuticals industry, for example, CI plays a role in nearly every decision based on an organization's external information collection standards -- from the corporate organization down through the business unit -- on topics ranging from regulation and legislation to intellectual property protection and exploitation.