Evaluating, selecting and relevance software tools in technology monitoring

The current setting for industrial and entrepreneurial development has posed the need for incorporating differentiating elements into the production apparatus leading to anticipating technological change. Technology monitoring (TM) emerges as a methodology focused on analysing these changes for identifying challenges and opportunities (being mainly supported by information technology (IT) through the search for, capture and analysis of data and information. This article proposes criteria for choosing and efficiently using software tools having different characteristics, requirements, capacity and cost which could be used in monitoring. An approach is made to different TM models, emphasising the identification and analysis of different information sources for coving and supporting information and access monitoring. Some evaluation, selection and analysis criteria are given for using these types of tools according to each production system’s individual profile and needs. Some of the existing software packages are described which are available on the market for carrying out monitoring prolects, relating them to their complexity, process characteristics and cost.