From Military Intelligence to Competitive Intelligence

This chapter deals with the common points that link military intelligence and competitive intelligence. Competitive intelligence is the civil application of intelligence techniques from the military. Unlike espionage, it uses only legal means that are largely sufficient to gather information necessary for a good analysis of the situation. The main objective of competitive intelligence is to understand what is really going on to give the decision-maker the keys. Intelligence practice is essential because it underpins action. Its effectiveness is based on the respect of fundamental rules to be implemented successively in a cycle of intelligence which is permanent, because the file must be perpetually completed and enriched by the new information collected. In the analysis and cross-referencing of information, the technical tools do the main thing, but the analyst adds their experience and their intuitive ability to turn the whole into a summary that becomes intelligence.