Compact Discs: New tool for competitive analysis

An important part of any strategic competitive analysis has always been access to timely and relevant data that can be pruned into useful information. Some new and still rapidly evolving technology is lowering the cost and simplifying access to huge data banks. This technology is already having an impact on competitive analysis. What once may have been a million‐dollar research effort taking many months, can now be accomplished in a few hours using a well‐equipped desktop PC that can read the new data sources.