The use of intelligence and intelligence gathering is not new to modern times. History shows that the Chinese strategist Sun Tzu in ‘The Art of War’ written over 2,000 years ago paid particular attention to the use of spies and intelligence.

Spying and intelligence gathering have been used by many Sovereign rulers over the centuries to maintain control of internal political enemies. You only need to consult the activities of the likes of Machiavelli to see these particular process used in their extremes.

Intelligence-led activities produce a far more efficient and effective use of resources than reactive measures to any event; being in possession of the relevant intelligence before an event can put you in a better position to deal with future events by creating the right policies or making the right decisions. The old adage being, “knowledge is power”.

Intelligence Processes in Practice

The production of high-quality intelligence has four main stages;

Collection – information is collected from various sources i.e. people, on-line and off-line databases and on-line and off-line publications.

Evaluation – the collected information must be thoroughly evaluated to establish its true provenance and veracity. It is not only the information that is subject to evaluation; the source of the information should also be carefully evaluated to establish its reliability and credibility prior to any reliance being placed upon it.

Analysis – it is essential that some form of analysis be performed upon the collected and evaluated information to establish how the information fits into the overall picture and the usefulness of the information when combined with all the other established information.

Dissemination/Actioning – the purpose of dissemination is to make sure that the finished intelligence product is given or circulated to the correct people. Intelligence that remains locked away with its originator fails to achieve the objective of influencing decision making.

At its very best this is a circular process and is usually called ‘the Intelligence Cycle’.

A regular flow of disseminated intelligence triggers the relevant operational and strategic responses from decision makers and policy makers which in turn re-informs the process with further information to be fed back into the intelligence cycle.

It is perhaps easy to see where the process fits when we talk in terms of the investigation of crime or matters relating to National Security, however, where does it fit in relation to the Business and Commercial world?

Serious decision and policy making is not restricted to crime investigation, national security matters or the development of foreign policy. The intelligence process also fits comfortably within the Corporate World. In order to secure its well-being in an uncertain economic world, Businesses and Corporations need to have access to information and intelligence in relation to such things as, competitors, prospective employees or indeed current staff who are suspected of disloyalty to the organisation.

One of the functions of my business is to provide a comprehensive Corporate Intelligence Gathering Service to assist businesses in protecting their interests and thereby safeguard their future profitability within the market place.

“Not having the information you need when you need it leaves you wanting. Not knowing where to look for that information leaves you powerless. In a society where information is king, none of us can afford that”.

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1. Private Investigators – What Does it Take to be a Good PI?