Prize List for Competitive Intelligence Software

Reprinted from Intelligence Newsletter, by INDIGO Publications

The U.S. firm Fuld & Co. has finished assessing 170 competitive and business intelligence software packages. Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the consultancy, which itself offers competitive intelligence services, began drawing up the annual list in 1998 and this year - as in the past - its verdict on what the market offers is mixed.

Firstly, Fuld & Co. noted that a growing number of retailers are naming their products "business intelligence software." In most cases, they are programs vaguely capable of providing data warehouses and quantitative analysis.

Competitive intelligence software packages able to identify and analyze qualitative information were thinner on the ground. Fuld's best marks went to 12 products. Among the best products Fuld lists Megaputer Intelligence's TextAnalyst 2.0.