i Spy

Computerworld - Gathering competitive intelligence over the Internet is a deadly serious game that can be played in many ways. There's a wealth of information readily available, and it can offer a surprising amount of insight into the competition's next move. Savvy companies are keeping close tabs on competitors in a variety of ways.
Ross Stapleton-Gray is the head of competitive intelligence at Sandstorm Enterprises Inc., a Cambridge, Mass.-based computer security firm. His job is to watch companies whose products might knock Sandstorm's out of the market. He spends his days trolling the Internet for often small bits of information that might add up to deeper insights.
In the past, information in local newspapers rarely traveled farther than the town line. Now, the Internet often makes information from those newspapers widely available to anyone who wants it. "We're following a company in Texas," Stapleton-Gray explains. "The local Texas business rag follows companies in town. They cover plenty of stuff that doesn't come out in press releases. The latest was a puff piece about how this company saw itself as an acquisition target."
That tidbit helped him understand how the company's management may be planning for the next year; trying to be acquired is a different game than trying to remain independent.
But how do you go about getting competitive intelligence? It turns out that there are lots of potential sources available on the Internet. Though a given Web site may be intended for one particular purpose, it may also reveal other useful information about companies and individuals.
Often, the interesting information about a company isn't on its Web site. Stapleton-Gray, for instance, says he enjoys watching job-posting boards for news about companies like his. While the descriptions are often intentionally vague, many times, they can't completely conceal a company's identity from a skilled reader.
"I was following a company locally, and on a local mailing list, someone wrote, 'I'm looking to join a company,' " Stapleton-Gray says. "His vague description seemed to match a company I was watching. Given that the start-up would be competition for us, I kept in contact with him over the next several months. How's that company coming? It hasn't got a prayer."
One executive who asked for anonymity says, "I watch our competitor on a regular basis and keep a running tally of who's on their staff or not." When he sees good people, he considers hiring them. If they don't match his needs, he passes their names on to a headhunter. He says that anyone "peeled