IIP uses custom-designed keyword filters, advanced robotic search technology, Boolean logic and, finally, the discerning eye of trained professionals to glean valuable kernels of Proactive Marketing Intelligence (PMI) from the mountains of public information available on the Internet, in trade publications, newspapers and services like Factiva.
"We are the first true implementation of the U.S. military's OSI methodology, adapted specifically to the special needs of the corporate world," said William Drewes, president of IIP. "Our service is aimed at every industry in which contract values are high and the competition is global and fierce. A single fact can change the direction of a negotiation or marketing campaign; we use OSI to find that metaphorical needle in a haystack of extraneous information."
In May 2005 the House Armed Services Committee authorized appropriations for a ten-point program that would accelerate the military's use of OSI. This was largely in response to the final report by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks that found "shortfalls in the ability of the United States to employ all-source intelligence, a large component of which is open-source intelligence."
For each client, IIP initially creates hundreds of keyword filters that robotically sift through virtually all licensed and public information sources, including for-profit copyrighted news outlets and other subscription sources going back a minimum of two years. This information typically includes intelligence about the client's competitors, customers, prospects, partners and the client company itself.
The filtered information is then evaluated by IIP analysts chosen for their direct experience in a client's industry who select the most relevant and actionable pieces of intelligence. These items are immediately stored in a database and made accessible to the client via the company's own IIP portal, the IIP Web site or by automatically scheduled email alerts to a client-controlled distribution list.
"This process gives clients immediate access to the knowledge they need to stay ahead of the competition and proactively identify and focus on real business opportunities as they happen," said Drewes. "This is the same methodology used every day to safeguard the country from terrorists."
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