High Value/Low Cost Business Information Sources

[Robert Berkman]

Good afternoon:

For an upcoming article in The Information Advisor on the impact of the economic downturn on corporate librarians' budget for access to high priced online services, I'd be grateful to hear from anyone on this list who has come across or used any business research sites, (can include publications, directories, databases etc.) on the Web that offers a notably high research value but at a very low cost (or even free) that competes well with traditional,pricier fee based sources. I'm particularly interested in sources for locating information on companies, industries, new products, technologies, market trends, and executives.

I'll post a summary of everyone's recommendations here on the NING group. Thanks in advance for any of you input....

Bob Berkman, editor
The Information Advisor
www.informationadvisor.com
Rochester NY
Author: The Art of Strategic Listening: Finding Market Intelligence Via Blo... (Paramount Press, 2008)

[Penny Scott]

Hi Bob,

You may already know about this one, but I love globalEDGE: http://globaledge.msu.edu/resourceDesk/ It
is an excellent compilation of international business sources.

Penny

[Robert Berkman]

Thanks Penny!
Bob

[Brian McLaughlin]

Bob -
Although still in beta, http://www.citymelt.com
provides more detailed demographics than many sites I’ve reviewed for local/regional economic development indicators -

Regards from Syracuse-
Brian McLaughlin

[Michael]

Rob:

I don't know whether you've published this article yet, but I would check out Crunchbase (TechCrunch) and TradeVibes. Both provide around 10K small company wiki profiles with a focus on technology companies. As Crunchbase is tied into the TechCrunch technology news and reviews, it is the more robust of the offerings.

Other free or low cost services:

- Silobreaker (news and profiles linked to identify relationships between companies, executives, and topics)
- www.innovations-report.com - industry and scientific research
- OpenCRS - a collection of reports from the Congressional Research Service
- ThomasNet Industrial Newsroom - Manufacturer News
- Nationmaster - International Statistical Tables (CIA Word Factbook, OECD, WHO, etc.)

I have not used it, but you might also want to check out TheBusinessLibrary.com.

Michael

[Robert Berkman]

Thanks Michael and Rob for your input--much appreciated!
Bob

[Aleha]

Hi Robert,

I have just discovered your post and am curious as to the outcome of your inquiry? Did you publish the results anywhere? I would be happy to share the free resources I use if you want to email me?

Aleha { [e-mail] }