The pandemic has tripled the competitive intelligence services market in Romania

The market of competitive intelligence services has tripled in the last two years in Romania, companies being much more attentive, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, to the fluctuations of the markets in which they operate, to the movements of competitors, to market changes and to the predictability of the political and social climate.

In this context, the need for rapid implementation of measures with major impact in the short, medium and long term, is likely to generate a higher need for intelligence products to support decision makers. Thus, company managers wanted to be more informed, to analyse faster, possibly in real time, markets, companies, trends, in a legitimate attempt to minimize the risks generated by new investments, fraud, association with new partners, or the launch of new products.

Competitive intelligence services involve collecting, analysing and providing information about vulnerabilities, risks, but especially about opportunities in a market, in order to support strategic decision making in companies.

“We can talk about the competitive intelligence market in Romania for just a short time. Like any new market, it is directly linked to several socio-economic factors: the degree of competitiveness in a particular sector or industry, the appetite for investment in a particular region, government incentives or fiscal policy. All this directly influences the way in which the management of companies relates to the need for competitive intelligence services. And in this field, Romania, compared to the more developed economies in the West, is still at the beginning”, says Gabriel Zgunea, CEO of Corporate Intelligence Agency.

Competitive intelligence services represent about 30% of the entire corporate intelligence market in Romania, estimated at approximately 10 million euro in 2020.

Currently, in Romania, international companies have the greatest appetite for competitive intelligence services, operating in highly competitive sectors, such as investment funds, banking companies and insurance, retail and energy companies. At the same time, more and more managers understand the importance of allocating resources in this regard and appreciate prior information, diligence and objective knowledge of the market.

“Regarding the evolution of the competitive intelligence market in Romania, the prospects look very good – beyond a greater understanding of the beneficial effects of these services, we also noticed an increased investment interest, especially from foreign investors. With Brexit, but not only for this reason, we have seen many investors analysing the opportunity to invest in Romania or move their business here. Exactly in such a context, we expect to see a dynamic growth of the competitive intelligence market, because such services are the basis of a correct and informed decision-making process, and the basis of a solid and efficient risk management policy”, says Gabriel Zgunea.