Competitive intelligence

Competitive intelligence

Competitive intelligence is the coordinated collection, processing and dissemination of information useful to economic players, with a view to its exploitation. We can add to this the action of influence and notoriety as well as those linked to the protection of information. It differs from economic and/or industrial espionage in that it practiced openly and uses only information obtained by legal means (open access information or information obtained through legal investigation). It can be supplemented by other “intelligences”, such as social intelligence, which organises the pooling of information with a view of collective performance of the various economic players.

The competitive intelligence in a triptych:

• Market surveillance
• Technology intelligence (technology watch: acquiring relevant strategic information),
• Gathering and exploitation of information and influence (propagating information or standards of behaviour and interpretation that support one’s strategy).

Protection of patrimony (protection of information: not letting sensitive information be known).