Yu Chin Cheng
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
The New Business Strategies: Business, open-source and competitive intelligence
Yu Chin Cheng
1. Introduction Nowadays, business strategies cannot lack of intelligence. What for what, who is who, where is where, know-know, when is when, for whom and of whose are the key questions and information for a enterprise. No doubt, the intelligence for enterprise is the central issue of the new business strategies. Particularly in the era of information explosion, how to manage information is more and more important for enterprise; consequently, it is observed that who dominates information can play the key role in business operating. This essay introduces business, open-source and competitive intelligence to enterprise, and encourages business operators to execute with them. The aims and definitions of business, open-source and competitive intelligence are various. And even the processes of their application are not the same. When an enterprise employs business, open-source and competitive intelligence, of which starts off firstly? First of all, opensource intelligence is in the front line, and it relates to the method of data processing. Secondly, business intelligence means the object of intelligence, and it covers all kinds of information of the object, which is designed to research. In final, the competitive intelligence focuses on competitiveness of competitors. Via competitive intelligence, an enterprise could modify its business strategy. The first goal of this essay approves open-source, business and competitive intelligence to apply for business operating in the changing world. By reason of intelligence employing, enterprise can analyse revenue, cost, business management, decision-making and planning, and can discover risk and opportunity. In addition, open-source, business and competitive intelligence also can analyse CEO’s personality and the impact of governmental policy on business. Furthermore, executing intelligence can take place in the central level of enterprise, and also can be used by employers. Additionally, the second goal of this essay encourages the central level of enterprise to invite the employers to involve into applying open-source, business and competitive intelligence. After integration of central and local level of enterprise, the information link will be the sword and shield to protect enterprise’s cost and benefit. 2. Open-Source Intelligence The definition of Open-Source intelligence (OSINT) exists two basic meaning—open source and intelligence circle. In this way, Open Source is interpreted to denote public and unclassified data, and an enterprise is not worried about lack of data under this condition. Although a wide range source comes toward an enterprise, it may get lost in large-scale source, and may discover no direction of intelligence object eventually. Nonetheless, the solution of data management is not ignorable, and consequently, intelligence circle is the ideal answer to this question. In the terms of OSINT experts, OSINT means unclassified information, which has been deliberately discovered, discriminated, distilled and disseminated to a select audience in order to address specific questions. With knowledge of relevant and reliable sources of open 1
Yu Chin Cheng
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
source information, an enterprise can devote its energy to data collecting, and can develop source-collection strategy, and can fulfill an enterprise’s need. There are four categories and rootstocks of open source: (Cheng, 2008, 4-6)
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• • •
Open Source Data (OSD) comes from raw print, broadcast, oral debriefing or other form of information from primary source. Having said that, this could be a photograph, a tape recording, a commercial satellite image, or a personal letter from an individual. Even though primary source is valuable, its validation requires much verification and filtering. Open Source Information (OSIF) has an editorial process that filters and validates data. Those can be newspapers, general daily report, books and periodicals. OSINT is unclassified information that has been deliberately discovered, discriminated, distilled and disseminated to a select audience in order to address specific question. Validated OSINT (OSINT-V) is information to which a very high degree of certainty can be attributed and it can also come from an assured open source to which no question can be raised concerning its validity. OSINT-V is designed to examine the accuracy and the relevance of OSINT
For making business strategies, OSINT is high capable of processing huge amount of open source, and mapping the process of data collecting, analyzing and synthesis. (Figure 1 the process of OSINT)
Planning and directing
Open source
OSINT-V
Collection, gathering and processing OSINT
Analysis and synthesis
Figure 1 the process of OSINT Source: Cheng, Y. C. (2008). The application of OSINT in IR studies. Guo Li Zheng Zhi Da Xiao Wai Jiao Xiao Xi Di Liu Jie Lun Wen Fa Biao Hui(the 6th Conference of the Department of Diplomacy, NCCU), Taipei. 7.
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
3. Business Intelligence vis-à-vis Competitive Intelligence “Market is Warfield” is an iron phrase in business management; furthermore market management is very similar with war-field management. The key to successful business management is applying Business intelligence (BI) and competitive intelligence (CI). BI is similar with OSINT, but has different definition. The similarity between BI and OSINT is related to the process of information management, and to support decision-making. However, the object of BI is more specific than OSINT; in fact BI is often used to refer to both information technology based systems and actual business information management processes. Some scholars think business intelligence more like marketing intelligence, which aims to gather and analyze useful information from the business environment of an organization. As a matter of fact, business intelligence seems to be a multifaceted term. The term can refer to processes, techniques or tools to support the making of faster and better decisions. By utilization of business intelligence, an organization learns to anticipate the actions of their customers and competitors as well as different phenomena and trends in their market-areas and fields of activity. (Pirttimäki & Hannula, 2003, 252) As usual, the fundamental aims of BI are twofold: (Williams, S., Williams, N., & Consulting, D. P. ,2003, 3.)
• •
Improve management processes. Such as planning, controlling, measuring, monitoring, and/or changing—so that management can increase revenues, reduce costs, or both. Improve operational processes. Such as fraud detection, sales campaign execution, customer order processing, purchasing, and/or accounts payable processing—so that the business can increase revenues, reduce costs or both.
The definite answering the description of CI is the intelligence that gathers all information about the competitor to identify the risk and opportunity in the common market. In addition, CI can provide an enterprise its rivals’ strengths and weaknesses, and it gathers the relative collection of data on competitors and interpretation of such data for managerial decision-making. Done properly, an enterprise can anticipate competitors’ moves, and can avoid unpredictable shock from rivals via application of CI. Following the Table 1, compare and contrast, CI and BI are similar in data processing, but are different in object of data collection; however CI and BI are collaborative and communicative in usual.
Similarity
Variety
Business Intelligence Competitive Intelligence process of information management, revelation of risk and opportunity, modification of operational and managerial activities, support of decision-making competitor’s information in the market-areas and fields of activity, market, avoidance of business information, anticipation unpredictable shock from of market trend competitor,
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Find the Next Wave to Ride On - New Business Strategies in the Changing World
Yu Chin Cheng
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
Table 1 the similarity and variety between BI and CI
4. OSINT, BI and CI for business strategy In tradition, BI and CI are based on OSINT and at the central level of an enterprise. As a matter of fact, globalisation and information explosion are merging international and domestic market, and dissolving the boundary of central and local level of an enterprise. Apparently, stateof-the-art information management technology is very highly exploited by OSINT, BI and CI. Because of OSINT, BI and CI, an enterprise can also map the business strategy to face any challenge and keep any chance in the changing world; moreover, they provide support CEO’s decision-making. For instance, cost and revenue are the vital factors for an enterprise’s life. When an enterprise applies OSINT, BI and CI, it can estimate the total cost of ownership (TCO), and will decide the actions of benefit seeking. (Figure 2 the relevance of TCO and benefit) If TCO is bigger than Cube A and B, decision maker is on the clear way; on the opposite side, if TCO is smaller than Cube A and B, decision maker will face the multiple alternatives, which lead different outcome consequently.
Figure 2 the relevance of TCO and benefit Source: Ritacco, M., & Carver, A. (2007). The business value of business intelligence-A framework for measuring the benefits of business intelligence No. BP1001-F). Newtown Square: Business Objects. http://www.sap.com/uk/campaigns/2009_02_brn/BRN_4_1_The_Value_of_Busi Retrieved from ness_Intelligence.pdf
As abovementioned that, OSINT, BI and CI carry out in both central and local level of an enterprise. The central level of OSINT, BI and CI is related to strategic level of information management and data collection. On the other words, the local level of OSINT, BI and CI refers to real-time, actual and tactics level of information collection and intelligence gathering. Having
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
said that, the integration of intelligence sharing and gathering can not only control the real activities in the market, but also can make the future business strategy. In practice and theory, the central level emphasizes the installation of hardware and software of OSINT, BI and CI; besides the local level focuses on the employers’ ability of intelligence gathering, and on their training of data collection. Eventually, an enterprise can survive in the challenging business market. 5. Conclusion Respond to new business strategies in the changing world, this essay emphasizes information management and intelligence application rather than new industry discovering or product innovation. In the terms of Cambridge dictionary, strategy is a detailed plan for achieving success in situations such as war, politics, business, industry or sport, or the skill of planning for such situations. Undoubtedly, the achievement of success and the skill of planning are the core in the strategy, and so is business strategy. In the changing world, OSINT, BI and CI are the stabilizer to remove the fog of business market; via intelligence application, it is certain to identify risk, opportunity, strength and weakness between an enterprise and its competitor. Eventually, via intelligence, an enterprise will not be expelled out of the business market in the changing world.
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Find the Next Wave to Ride On - New Business Strategies in the Changing World
Yu Chin Cheng
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
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Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009
Word: 1642 count: PIN: 10632
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Find the Next Wave to Ride On - New Business Strategies in the Changing World
Yu Chin Cheng
Global Initiatives Symposium in Taiwan 2009