The International Competia Awards were created by Competia Inc. (http://www.competia.com) to spotlight dedication, hard work, and ingenuity among competitive intelligence (CI) and strategic planning professionals. Awards are given out in four categories: “Most Insightful Book,” “Best in Class Software,” “Best Information Source,” and “CI Champion.” An independent judging panel comprised of corporate CI and strategic planning practitioners chose this year’s winning book, according to an announcement by Competia Inc. The award was presented to authors Bouthillier and Shearer during the Competia International Symposium in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, on September 29, 2004.

In recent years, commercial software products for CI—the process by which businesses monitor competitive threats and opportunities—have become increasingly useful and sophisticated. However, users and potential users of the emerging technology are largely dependent on information supplied by software manufacturers and distributors. In Assessing Competitive Intelligence Software, authors Bouthillier and Shearer demonstrate a system that allows companies to thoroughly and objectively evaluate CI software products before making major investments.

“ITI is delighted that Assessing Competitive Intelligence Software has received this prestigious award from Competia,” said John B. Bryans, editor-in-chief of ITI’s Book Publishing Division.

Noting that “CI is not a one-size-fits-all process,” Bryans said the book is the first to present a systematic method companies can use to evaluate competitive intelligence software, allowing them to compare features, identify strengths and weaknesses, and invest in products that meet their unique needs.

The Authors

France Bouthillier holds a Ph.D. in information studies and has taught at McGill University in the area of management and business information since 1992. Prior to that she worked as a consultant in management and as a trainer in various organizations in the public and private sectors. She has published numerous articles, book chapters, and conference proceedings in French and English on knowledge management, competitive intelligence, and management issues in library and information services. She recently has shed a three-year research project on the information needs and behaviors of small businesses and their requirements in terms of information services. Currently, she is Acting Director and Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies.

Kathleen Shearer received her MLIS in 2001 from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. She has been a freelance Information Professional for the past six years and, as such, has worked with organizations such as Bombardier, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Government of Canada, National Library of Canada, and others. Currently, she is contracted as a Research Associate with the Canadian Association of Research Libraries and is involved in a research study about academic knowledge dissemination in Canada, as well as acting as the Coordinator of the CARL Institutional Repository Project. She is the author of numerous articles and has written chapters for several books, including “Access to Information in a Digital World”, published in 2004 by the Canadian Library Association.

Assessing Competitive Intelligence Software (211 pp./hardbound/ISBN 1-57387-173-7/$39.50) is published by Information Today, Inc. and is available by calling the publisher at (800) 300-9868 [outside the U.S. call (609) 654-6266]; faxing (609) 654-4309; e-mailing custserv@infotoday.com; or visiting the ITI Web site at www.infotoday.com.