Regional business intelligence: the view from Canada

Abstract

In Canada, as is the case in most industrial countries, business intelligence (BI) has stirred much interest lately. A growing number of organizations, either large or small, nonprofit or government, implement formal BI activities. This paper provides a panorama of trends in BI in Canada. It reports research on environmental scanning, information-seeking behaviour and BI implementation and practice in large organizations and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as in the cultural sector. It describes governmental efforts to support disseminating and implementing BI practices especially in SMEs; in particular, the Québec Government’s Fonds de Partenariat Sectoriel Volet IV: Veilles Concurrentielles, a unique and innovative governmental programme which sponsored the development of BI centres. Finally, it provides an overview of current activities in training and research in BI. It concludes by indicating areas for improvement and development, with an emphasis on the need to develop a better understanding of information-seeking behaviour in SMEs and to develop an information model of organizations specific to SMEs.