Sources
and Types of Online Business Information
Search engines can be useful tools for finding business information
online. They offer access to a variety of online business information direct
from free sources, including:
- Publishers
- Credit bureaus
- Information
databases
- Global
regulatory agencies
- Research
organizations
- Consulting
firms
However, many of the above sources do not provide their most detailed
information for free. Subscription business information services often
provide much more detailed information. Also, the information from
business information providers is much higher quality than free information on
the Internet, which can be out-of-date and may not have been verified at all.
OneSource provides a subscription that aggregates data from many
different sources and provides it through one subscription service, making it
easy for users of the subscription to access the best business information
through a single source.
Business information is used extensively in disciplines such as sales,
marketing, procurement, M&A and finance, legal compliance and consulting.
The main types of business information available online include:
- Industry
research
- Global market
research
- Company
information
- Executive
listings
- Credit and
financial data
- News
Uses of Online Business Information
Information users leverage the Internet for research tasks such as
reviewing a prospect’s website or “Googling” a competitor’s product name. They
can also access a range of business reports for data on credit ratings,
corporate families and industry analyses.
Limitations to Internet-Only Research
There are some limitations to relying solely on the Internet for
business research. Searching, organizing and analyzing mass volumes of content
is time consuming. And collating content from disparate sources – especially
financial data – is prone to error. News, except press releases on a company
website, is usually limited to the current year. Other limitations include the
unavailability of private company profiles and free web practices – like pop-up
advertising and multiple registrations and logins – that take a heavy toll on
productivity.
Role of Business Information Services
Professionals can minimize the impact of
free Internet pitfalls by complementing online research with a subscription-based
business information service, such as OneSource.
OneSource acts as an “information agent” by selecting premier content
providers, collecting all relevant information, and blending and normalizing
many data streams into one consistent, consumable asset. It also delivers the
information online with browser tools that streamline searching, finding and
screening thousands of data sources. Other solutions for optimizing information
quality and usability include automated processes and expert editorial
oversight.
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