Business Intelligence and Competitive Intelligence: Two perspectives for more effective decision-making
13 December 2024Business intelligence has evolved into more sophisticated practices that allow companies to understand both their internal operations and the competitive environment in which they operate. Today I talk to you, from an Anglo-Saxon point of view, about how Business Intelligence (BI) and Competitive Intelligence (CI) approaches can contribute to the development of companies that are more informed, agile and ready to innovate.
| BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE | COMPETITIVE INTELLIGENCE | |
| Definition | Analyses current and historical business data to aid decision making | Ethical and systematic process of collecting and analysing information about the external environment for decision-making (Standard UNE 166006:2011) |
| Information sources | Internal organisational data (sales statistics, indicators, inventory levels…) | External sources (industry news, market research, public data on competitors…) |
| Approach to analysis | Provides a clear current situation of the organisation based on historical and current data | Understanding market behaviour, market movements, new regulations, trends… |
| Timing and implementation | Focuses on past and present (solid basis for improving operational efficiency on a day-to-day basis) | Is forward-looking (identifies emerging signals and trends that can influence the medium and long term) |
Both disciplines share the goal of improving decision-making, albeit from different angles. Ramon Archanco, an expert in surveillance and business intelligence, commented in 2013 in one of his articles that organisational intelligence integrating both internal (BI) and external (CI) information can offer a holistic approach and improve decision-making, adaptation to the environment and risk management.
Rodenberg´s scheme allows a clear differentiation between BI and CI, which according to the author make up a single unit, Organisational Intelligence (Internal and External Knowledge Management).
As Javier Martinez also comments in the newsletter of the first week of December, the capacity to act and make decisions is determined by the knowledge you possess (both internal and external); learning secures your present and your future.
BI and CI in decision making
Integrating both approaches allows organisations to address not only ‘what to do’ and ‘how to do’, but also ‘when’ and ‘where’ to go.
This perspective allows not only to improve internal efficiency, but also to anticipate and adapt to changes in the environment, transforming data into value for the organisation and thus into innovation by developing new solutions.
In particular, Competitive Intelligence allows organisations to gain a deep insight into the environment, to anticipate changes and to act in an informed manner.
InTool, our Competitive Intelligence tool, allows to automate and manage the internal and external information of an organisation to generate knowledge. With InTool, you not only monitor the environment, you can also detect opportunities and anticipate your competition. It is the perfect ally to convert large volumes of data into strategic decisions.