CI Super Tech Users - Who Are They?

Tech Super Users & Tech Kryptonite
Latest findings from the Fuld & Company Global CI Benchmarking Project™

Super users of intelligence technology are made, not born. It is money, time, and focus on process – in addition to their use of technology – that brings them to World Class, according to findings from the most recent Fuld & Company Global CI Benchmarking Project. Benchmark data also reveals that over 90 percent of intelligence programs sophisticated in their use of technology are ranked as overall World Class programs. The technology attribute is one of 11 measured in the study and is the attribute that correlates most consistently with World Class programs. At the same time, technology alone does not make an intelligence program World Class; it must perform well in other areas, such as training, positioning and perceived value within the organization. Even a great technology can fail for lack of the right infrastructure, the benchmark data concludes.  (See Kryptonite comments below).  

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Fuld & Company’s CI Benchmarking Project has collected data from over 480 companies worldwide since it was first launched in 2006. Based on global survey data, we have created a repository of information on CI programs that is the most comprehensive database of its kind. For this latest edition of the Intelligence Software Report, we have extracted that portion of the benchmark database focusing on the technology question. We analyzed all programs that viewed themselves as having achieved the highest level, rating themselves a "4" (1-to-4 rating scale). A company that claims a four rating states: "We have a fully developed technology (either grown or purchased from an outside vendor) that functions well and is integrated with the rest of our competitive intelligence program."

Characteristics of Super-Tech Intelligence Programs

World Class programs that are super users of technology also include these characteristics:

• Tech super users are most often mature programs with four or more years of experience.
  
• They have well trained staffs, not just beginners or managers “borrowed” or recruited from other divisions and dropped into place without any orientation or just to fill head count requirements.
  
• They have deep pockets: Over 60% of the super tech users have budgets of over one million dollars, with more than 40% having budgets of over two million dollars.
  
• More than 60% of the super-tech rated programs are housed in either technology or pharmaceutical companies.
  

Israel, India, Sweden, and Brazil rank as the most sophisticated technology users for corporate intelligence programs, with the United States and most European companies falling into the middle or the bottom of the rankings. These findings indicate that certain cultures seem to embrace and adapt technology solutions more easily than others, despite a perception that the United States and Western European countries are very technology savvy.

The Fuld Intelligence Software Report is intended to offer a thumbnail view of some of the many software tools that can be used by competitive intelligence professionals. If you have a specific request for information about software tools or other aspects of competitive intelligence that will likely require a significant amount of research or due diligence, please contact our headquarters at the following address:

Fuld & Company
US: 126 Charles Street • Cambridge, Massachusetts 02141
Phone +1 (617) 492-5900 • Fax +1 (617) 492-7108

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