Competitive intelligence is a systematic procedure to capture, analyze, relate and add value to information collected in the environment of the enterprise, institution, region or country. It covers the whole process and capture information continuously from outside and within the organization on issues of interest, select, analyze, disseminate and transmit it in the organization, to turn it into knowledge sharing and oriented to guide decision making competitive.

There are several types of competitive intelligence as the focus of analysis, among them are:

• Regulatory intelligence:on the regulatory and legislative regulation that may affect our business, with particular emphasis on changes that will occur.
• Economic intelligence, social and political: focus on analyzing and acting according to economic, social and political aspects of society and the environment in which we operate.
• Technological intelligence:specializing in analyzing the situation of research and state of technology, processes, surveys and patents of all actors involved, and compete in the environment of the organization.
• Market intelligence: it analyzes the supply and demand in the market and internal and external factors that influence or will in the future. For example: new products, benchmark, substitute products, public negotiation, etc.

All these types of competitive intelligence analysis and specific aspects of the environment are interrelated. A competitive intelligence system must be undertaken from the holistic approach, understanding that the organization lives in a system where all dimensions are interrelated.