Competitive intelligence through data mining public sources

A new paradigm has appeared in computer science in the recent years: data mining. The success of this new approach comes from recent advances in three different, yet connected fields: mathematics—new efficient and quick algorithms have been developed; database technologies—new research has allowed the improvement of databases; computer power—new powerful computers and architectures have made possible the elaboration of huge data volumes. Data mining's applications to the business world are several and include database marketing, basket analysis, and crime detection. In this article, the author discusses the application of data mining to competitive intelligence analysis. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.