Online Business Information
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quality than free information on the Internet, which can be out-of-date and may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 prospects
website or Googling a competitors 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.