Intellignece SolutionsByBarneaCIM July August 09

8/8/2019 Intellignece SolutionsByBarneaCIM July August 09

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intelligence solutions

I ntellIgence S olutIonS t hrough

the u Se of e xpert t oolS Avner BArneA, Ono Academic College , Is a l

Si c 2000, th ha b i t si ffo ts i Is a lto xpa d th us of xp t tools to suppo t th obj cti sof Comp titi I t llig c . I ha touch d upo this issui two p ious a ticl s a d i p s tatio s as w ll (Ba a2005, 2006, 2007, 2008).

As th s ffo ts i Is a l ha g ow , I ha d cid d tolook at this issu th ough th y s of thos who ha mad

us of th s tools by focusi g o fi ms that ha pu chas dth m a d a utilizi g th m i th i comp titi i t llig c(CI) p og am. Mo tha o d dicat d CI tool has bd lop d a d off d to th Is a li ma k t, but most w

ot succ ssful o ha gi up th CI p actic a d mo dto mo p ofitabl a as. I ha sp cifically look d at thpu chas s of o cu t tool, which I will f to as Sp cificexp t Tool (SeT).

I ha to co f ss that Im a g at b li i th usof xp t tools to suppo t CI acti ity a d, as such, I hab p omoti g it i Is a l a d ab oad as much as possibl .I ca ot imagi that CI will lag b hi d whil th wo ldmo s fo wa d by utilizi g th s typ s of tools fo all ki ds of busi ss acti iti s.

ABOUT THE RESEARCH SETTh Sp cific exp t Tool pu chas d by th p so s

i t i w d i my study was d lop d i Is a l at th dof th 1990s to a sw th ds of th local CI ma k t. Thd lop s did ot co duct tho ough s a ch b fo sta ti gto d lop th SeT, a d ma y l m ts w add d lat tomatch th qui m ts s t by th i cli ts.

Th mai f atu s of th SeT w th capabiliti s to:

Gath i fo matio f om th w b, both automatically a d ma ually.

r c i i fo matio f om p ima y sou c s mai ly th ough th i t al two k.

I d x all th i fo matio c i d f om both i t ala d xt al sou c s with sophisticat d s a ch a d

t i al optio s. A alyz p ima ily by adapti g li k a alysis discipli

to CI qui m ts a d c ati g dy amic mappi gof i fo matio about th cha g s i th comp titith at s, comp tito s, suppli s a d oth i flu tialfacto s i th comp titio . T xt a alysis capabiliti s walso suppo t d.

P pa po ts f om th i fo matio gath d a da alyz d, a d diss mi at th i fo matio to i t alus s th ough th Outlook syst m.

I t g at with oth i t al I fo matio T ch ology syst ms (mai ly Busi ss I t llig c ) to c at a b ttbig pictu .

Suppo t CI p of ssio als to b tt ma ag th o all

p oc ss, mo ito KITs spo s s a d oth lat d tas

BASIC INFORMATIONTh l l of succ ss s lli g th syst m was much low

tha a ticipat d. I all, about 250 Is a li la g a d m diumsiz d compa i s ha acti CI fu ctio s. Most of th m,how , a ot usi g a y CI xp t tool. Th SeT fi m

stimat s that th y ha p s t d th i syst m to 100pot tial cli ts bas d i Is a l. App oximat ly 60% of th sp s tatio s w i itiat d by th SeT fi m whil o ly 40% w qu st d by pot tial cli ts. (S Tabl 1 fo

umb of syst ms i stall d.)SeT succ ssfully i t oduc d its lf to most of th la g

i dust i s (s Tabl 2). Although it was a l ad i this fi lth compa y xp i c d slow ma k t g owth a d was u ato ach a sig ifica t ma k t sha a d u s i Is a l

Th pla to mo to i t atio al ma k ts was sh l da sult of i suffici t sou c s.

As I reported in my 2006 paper on CI in Israel,approximately 50% of the large Israeli exporters have active

Year Number of firms2000 2

2001 3

2002 3

2003 4

2004 4

2005 2

2006 2

2007 1

Total 21

TABlE 1: NUMBER OF SET SySTEMSINSTAllEd


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CI p og ams. I th total SeT i stall d bas of 21, 14compa i s op at d p ima ily i local ma k ts a d 7 i globalma k ts. Th abo sults cl a ly i dicat that most Is a licompa i s that ha CI fu ctio s a ot usi g a y CI xp ttool.

I Is a l, a compa y with $30- 50 millio i u sis co sid d m dium siz d, a d high u s mak s it ala g compa y. I th SeT i stall d bas , fi fi ms had $30-50 millio i sal s, 16 with mo tha $50 millio . SeT isco sid d us ful mai ly fo la g fi ms i th local ma k t,although w s th is also a d ma d amo g small fi ms.

CI units in Isra l g n rally consist of a staff of onop rating und r consid rabl pr ssur to d liv r r sults whil working with a limit d allocation of r sourc s. In th SeTinstall d bas , 16 of th firms had only on CI prof ssional,and only fiv had mor than on . Th small siz of th s CIunits gav r ason to b li v that first class xp rt tools might b w lcom d and would play a significant rol in improving th irp rformanc . As w can s , how v r, th s xp ctations w r

not m t.

THE SCOPE OF THE RESEARCH As show abo i Tabl 1, 21 SeT syst ms w sold i

Is a l b tw 2000 a d 2007. eight of th p opl i thcompa i s who pu chas d th syst m took a acti pa t ithis s a ch. Thos who opt d out of this s a ch did so fo

aso s that a ot l a t to th study.This s a ch was co duct d p ima ily th ough

p so al i t i ws. Du i g 2008, I m t ach of th CIp of ssio als i th 18 compa i s a d discuss d with th m

th qu stio ai outli d b low. S io x cuti s i ol di th CI p oc ss w ot di ctly i t i w d, but I l a d

of th i i ws th ough th CI p of ssio als who pa ticipati th su y. I also spok with CI p of ssio als of compa ithat did ot pu chas SeT to h a th i i ws.

Question 1. Who initiate acquiring the SET?

Results (18): CI professional (15)Senior executive (2)Other (1)

Th pu pos of this qu stio was to fi d out whoi itiat d th p oc ss of xplo i g th oppo tu ity of acqui i g th SeT i ach fi m. Th sults show that it wasusually pu chas d at th i itiati of th CI u it. A follow-upqu stio al d that s io x cuti s w g allyi ol d u til th fi al stag of th acquisitio d spit th

ffo ts of th i CI staff to i ol th m a li . How ,imp ssio was that th CI staff mad i suffici t ffo ts to

c uit th x cuti s f om th outs t fo f a that th y wot suppo t th pu chas p oc ss.

Question 2. What were the main reasons forpurchasing the SET?

Results (18):General desire to improve CI capabilities (4)CI professionals felt they needed better tools (10)Unsatisfactory results from CI to meet executives

needs (4)

This qu stio att mpt d to d t mi th mai moti sb hi d th d cisio to acqui th SeT. A follow-up qu stiofou d that it took quit a lo g tim , i som cas s up to sixmo ths, to acqui i t al app o al fo th pu chas . Th

spo s s sugg st that th aso fo pu chasi g th SeTp oduct cam p ima ily f om th CI staff, who f lt that th y could p fo m b tt by usi g ha c d tools.

Question 3. What was the overa satisfaction with CI

pro ucts in the firm before insta ing SET?

Results(18) (1=lowest, 5=highest):Rating 3 (10)Rating 4 (8)

This qu stio was focus d o disco i g th l lof satisfactio with th CI f om th poi t of i w of th

x cuti s as obs d by th CI staff. It app a s that thCI di cto s w s siti to th d to supply b tt

d p oducts a d f lt that utilizi g a xp t tool wouldallow th m to d li high alu po ts to th i i t

custom s.

Industry Number of firms

Telecom 4

Food 2

Defense 2

Pharma 2

Finance 1

Transportation 2

Energy 2

Advertising 2

Medical devices 2

Hi-Tech 2

Total 21

TABlE 2: SET SySTEMS INSTAllEd By INdUSTRIES


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Question 4. What was the overa satisfaction of CIusers 6 to 12 months after SET was insta e ?

Results(18) (1=lowest, 5=highest):Rating 3 (8)Rating 4 (9)

Rating 5 (1)

This qu stio sought to disco wh th th i stallatioa d us of th SeT xp t tools cha g d th l l of CI

spo s to th ds of th i x cuti s. Compa i g thsults of qu stio s umb 3 a d 4, it is appa t that

th l l of satisfactio att ibut d to th CI p oducts aftacti ati g th SeT is high , but th cha g is ot d amatic.Th s sults a co sist t with my co t tio that SeT a dp og ams simila to it a m ly tools a d CI has oth issu sto add ss fo b tt p fo ma c , which w ot co d ithis su y.

Question 5. In our best ju gment, how much i SETcontribute to our CI performance?

This qu stio att mpt d to id tify how SeT hasco t ibut d to CI f om th poi t of i w of th CIp of ssio als. Th sults i dicat that th fo mostimp o m t was achi d i th a alysis p oc ss, but thsatisfactio l l with sp ct to th gath i g p fo ma c of th SeT was low. Usi g th SeT, th CI staff b cam mo

ff cti wh th i p c ptio was that th i p of ssio alputatio had imp o d. A fu th qu stio al d that

all spo d ts xc pt o i dicat d that its lack of a a ly

wa i g syst m was sig ifica t. It must b mphasiz d thatth high sco fo imp o i g KIT ma ag m t shows that CI

u its d tools that will h lp th m to fulfill ma y missio sth y u simulta ously.

Th d lop s of th SeT ha admitt d that thst o g st capability of th syst m was i th a alysis, whilgath i g was co sid d l ss ff cti . Th y f lt that thp ima y chall g of CI li s i th a alysis a d this is wh

CI is xp ct d to gi m a i gful add d alu . Th y took thi fo matio gath d i this study a d i t d to imp o thsyst ms gath i g capabiliti s.

Question 6. Has the SET fu fi e our initiaexpectations?

Results (18):Yes (16)Moderately (2)No (0)

This qu stio att mpt d to fi d out th bottom-lip sp cti of how satisfi d th CI staff was with th SeT.Th sults show that th CI staff fa o d th SeT, though with som s atio s, as i dicat d i th spo s s toQu stio 5. Th xp ctatio that th SeT would d lopi to a mo ad a c d tool was o ly pa tially m t.

Question 7. What was the reason for eci ing not topurchase SET?

Results (12):Lack of resources/too expensive (5)Not important enough (5)

Total 5(Highest)

4 3 2 1(Lowest)

18 - - 3 5 10 Improved gathering process

18 - 5

28%

8

44%

5

28%

- Improved analysis and final CIproducts

18 - 3 15 - - Improved CI dissemination

18 8 10 - - - Improved KIT management

18 - 9 9 - - Improved CI efficiency

18 2 8 8 - - Improved CI reputation

TABlE 3: SET CONTRIBUTION TO CI WORk


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Did not meet our needs (1)Have another solution (1)

This fi al qu stio was ask d of th tw l CI di cto sof compa i s that ultimat ly d cid d ot to buy th SeT.Th y had all s p s tatio s of th SeT a d had gis ious co sid atio to b comi g quipp d with this syst m.

It app a s to m that th is a di ct co latio b twth lack of sou c s a d ot impo ta t ough spo s s.My p sp cti is that if th tool was fou d to b impo ta t

ough, th y would ha fou d th sou c s to buy thsyst m.

CONClUSIONSSi c th mid-1990s, Is a l has b cog iz d fo its

outsta di g softwa p oducts i a wid a g of i dust i ssold succ ssfully wo ldwid . exp t tools fo CI ha alsoacqui d a st o g putatio , as d mo st at d by th c tFuld a d Compa y softwa po t.

My 2006 pap i dicat d that th pictu ga di g thadoptio of CI tools i Is a l was mo complicat d thao igi ally thought. Whil CI has had slow but st ady g owth,its suppo t tools ha suff d f om a limit d dist ibutio .Th apid g owth of th softwa i dust y i Is a l hasaff ct d th d lopm t of sp cific CI solutio s, butu fo tu at ly th d ma d has b low tha xp ct d.

Th SeT p oduct did ot gai mom tum o b coma co tio al i t llig c solutio fo th local CI ma k t

ds. Th gap b tw th high xp ctatio s of SeT a d itslow sal s sults was ot o ly a g at disappoi tm t; it alsodiscou ag d ffo ts to fu th d lop this solutio .

This focus d study al d that local fi ms wot p pa d to i st i w CI tools that would abl

CI p of ssio als to p fo m b tt . As a sult, most CIp of ssio als ha to co ti u usi g g ic tools lik Offic , which off s u satisfacto y solutio s to th i CI p og am

ds.My discussio s with th compa i s al d that ma y

x cuti s did ot suppo t th i CI staff m mb s qu sts

to pu chas SeT, possibly as a sult of ot u d sta di g CIds ath tha a lack of sou c s. This has implicatio sfo th isio of th pot tial alu of CI.

This study shows that th high l l CI solutio has otach d its pot tial ta g t ma k t du to a lack of suppo t

by s io x cuti s who did ot s it as c itical to moCI fo wa d i th i fi ms. A t ch ological solutio ca otb com a sta da d i a i dust y without b i g cog iz das such by thos who a maki g th d cisio s a d allocati gth sou c s fo this pu pos .

Fi ally, whil th SeT was ot th p f ct solutio , it was a tool that imp o d CI p fo ma c i th compa i s

that impl m t d it. This obs atio p o id s additio al

cou ag m t to co ti u p s ti g CI discipli , itsbusi ss alu a d ds i x cuti d lopm t p oga d acad mia, a d to mak ducatio o this subj ct ai t g al pa t of th acti iti s of y CI di cto .

REFERENCESBa a, A (2005). Li k a alysis as a tool fo comp titi

i t llig c .Competitive Intelligence Magazine , V8/4 4 July-August.

Ba a, A (2006). Is a l study o comp titii t llig c .Competitive Intelligence Magazine , V9/2,Ma ch-Ap il.

Ba a, A (2006). Why sta t-up compa i s fail to adopCI. Competitive Intelligence Magazine , V9/1, January-F b ua y.

Ba a, A (2007). Why is CI m thodology still b hi d CI t ch ology tools?Competitive Intelligence Magazine ,V10/3, May -June.

Fuld, L o a d (2008).Intelligence Software Report 2008-2009 http://www.fuld.com/Products/ISR2008/HomePage.html

Avner Barnea is a former senior member of the Israeli Intelligence Community. He holds a MA from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and graduated from the Top Executive Program in Marketing Management from the Tel Aviv University Graduate School of Business Administration. He is astrategic consultant in the field of competitive intelligence and business strategy in Israel and abroad. A lecturer on competitiveintelligence in the MBA program of the Ono Academic College

Avner is also a guest lecturer on competitive intelligence at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem Business School and invarious business executive training programs. He has extensive

experience in the integration of competitive intelligence systemsin Israeli corporations. Avner can be reached at: avnerpro@ netvision.net.il.


Intellignece SolutionsByBarneaCIM July August 09

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