(cross-posted: apologies for any duplication)
Greetings--Below is a summary and excerpt from an article from the July, 2001
issue of The Information Advisor, which identifies and compares sources for
finding private company data on the Web. If there are questions or comments
feel free to call or email me directly at rberkman@aol.com. The full article
provides details on each of the sites mentioned below, and includes a table
comparing the site's features such as number of firms covered, specific data
elements included, and so on.
(Other articles in the July 2001 issue include: Finding Courseware on the
Web, an excerpt from Mary Ellen Bates' Super Searchers Cover the World
(Publisher: Information Today) book on international Web searching, and more)
Robert Berkman
Editor
The Information Advisor
www.informationadvisor.com
Falmouth MA
508-540-5990
rberkman@aol.com
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(Excerpt from July, 2001 Information Advisor)
Finding Private Company Information On The Web
It's an old problem, but with a new twist. Business researchers have long
struggled with figuring out the best strategies and sources for finding
information on privately-held firms. Since private firms in the U.S. aren't
required to disclose their financial information, it's always been much more
difficult to unearth information on these companies.
In this month's issue, we focus on two major sources: company profile sites
and traditional print-based company directories on the Web. In next month's
issue, we will have a round-up of all other Web sources for locating private
company information on the Web, and a list of highly recommended, filtered
links.
Private Company Profile Sites
We define "company profile" sites fairly broadly. We include any site that
provides substantive data on private firms, which could include financial,
directory or narrative information, or any other kind of commonly
sought-after data. We also include profile sites that have information on
both public and private firms.
While there are many such sites on the Web, our favorites are identified and
compared on the charts on pages 4-5. Note that within this category, there
are subcategories as well:
Free Searchable Directories:
Hoover's Company Capsules; Kompass; Thomas' Register
Fee-Based Company Directories:
Dun and Bradstreet's: Business Background Report; Business Information
Report; and Comprehensive Report
High-Profile Private Company Lists:
Forbes 500 Top 500 Companies, and The Inc. 500: America's 500 Fastest Growing
Private Companies
While each of these sources is different, they all are similar in that they
provide important data on private firms, and can be searched immediately and
directly over the Web with no subscription commitment.
Print Directories on the Web
As we alluded at the beginning of this article, the standard print directory
has been a mainstay for business researchers who wanted to find facts and
financials on private firms. Can these directories also be searched on the
Web? Our first step was to identify directories that we felt were the
standard and most heavily relied-upon sources. We eventually determined that,
with a couple of exceptions, the majority were published either by The Gale
Group or Dun & Bradstreet. Specifically, we focused on the following:
Gale Directories:
Brands and Their Companies
Business Rankings Annual
International Directory of Company Histories (St. James imprint)
Market Share Reporter
Organization Charts
Ward's Business Directory
Ward's Private Company Profiles
D&B Directories
D&B Key Business Ratios
Duns Business Rankings
Industry Norms and Key Business RatiosMillion Dollar Directory
Who Owns Whom (North American)
The only other publisher we included was National Register Publishing, (a
division of Reed Elsevier's Lexis-Nexis), which puts out the Directory of
Corporate Affiliations.
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The Information Advisor, an international monthly journal founded in 1987, is
a guide for information professionals, who rely on its articles to help them
identify, compare and select the best business sources from the myriad of
information products and services available, whether in print, on a
professional database or on the Web. Readers include business librarians,
information brokers, market researchers, knowledge managers, competitive
intelligence professionals and other hands-on researchers and information
specialists. The July issue is available to non-subscribers for $20.
Contact Ms. Sonia Bedikian at (212) 633-4539 or sbedikian@findsvp.com for
further details.
Also published by The Information Advisor is the "Best of the Business Web"
E-letter, a free monthly e-mail alert identifying the five best business
research sites found by the editor every month. To sign up, visit:
www.bestbizweb.com
The Information Advisor is published by FIND/SVP, Inc. (FSVP-NASDAQ), the
global business advisory, research and consulting firm ( www.findsvp.com.)
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