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Original inquiry posted by Mindy Pennington, The Dow Chemical Company, on November 20, 1997.

I am looking into Business Browser/Global Business Browser from OneSource. I have looked into the site with the vendor but have not done a trial yet. I would appreciate any input on:

• cost (worth it? less than Disclosure?)
• coverage (especially for companies outside US)
• news articles (useful, or just pr?)
• the [premium] Industry Snapshots?
• WatchList (alerts) of SEC filings? of research reports?

Also, for international companies--does your company have employees and researchers using this outside the US? I would be more than happy to summarize and post to the group. Thanks!

New

In general, I really like OneSource, but you should be aware of some very unusual features within the software. This may be difficult to follow if you do not have the product in front of you.

1. Let's say you did a search and have a list of 125 companies. OneSource does not allow you to save in an htm or print more than 25 files at a time. After printing or saving the first 25 records, you then have to go back to your list, clear the board, manually count down to number 26 and start checking off the next 25 records that you want to print or save. This is very time consuming.

2. OneSource does not have a feature by which you can save your search strategy. You have to print out a "criteria" page. If you forget to print out this page, you never can retrieve your search strategy. There is a way that you can save your list of companies.

As I mentioned before, OneSource is a great way to get quick information on companies. However, in my opinion, the software needs some work.

-- Barbara Reismann, Executive Destinations, on July 31, 2002

New

We use OneSource and we love it. It is easy to use, comprehensive, and those OneStop reports are a ream. We also like the Analyst reports. The only draw back -- it's really expensive.

-- Celeste Smith, Research Services META Group, on July 31, 2002

We use both. They are both exceptional products, but if you're marketing department is anything like ours then they're going to be going after industry data, product development, etc. In which case, I'd definitely say OneSource is your choice. Our new products area loves crunching through all the numbers and OneSource is exceptionally user-friendly. And, in my experience, much less expensive that Lexis-Nexis.

If they're looking for company profiles, etc. you might also want to consider the IAC Insite products, which get a lot of use from our Corporate Strategy and Planning group. I think the trick here is to stay away from any products that are going to ding you for connect time, etc. My experience with both of these business functions is that their research methodology is based on a browser mentality. Which is great - they come up with a lot of ideas just by going through the preliminary results - but it isn't very cost effective to do that on something like Lexis/Nexis. They aren't accustomed to hearing the meter ticking. *smile* If there's anything else I can tell you, please feel free to contact me.

-- Robert Burke, AAA Information Center, on July 27, 1998

Win Yuan Shih reviewed OneSource for the Business Information Alert in September 1997 He found "... it has a clean and simple Web interface; its content and pricing structure are attractive; and there is well-thought-out, value-added functionality...." He also found that OneSource does a good job of cross referencing individual company and industry information from various databases into a tightly integrated single source. At the time the review was written, the reviewer thought that more foreign information, both sources and publications would be a benefit. For a copy of the review or information about the Business Information Alert, please contact Alert Publications (www.alertpub.com) at 773-525-7595, or alertpub@compuserve.com

-- Vera Emmons, Business Information Alert, on May 22, 1998

I am a customer of Onesource, and am very pleased with it. We got it primarily for their coverage of US private companies, which typically are hard to find. Their one-stop reports and tear sheets are concise and our users like them. Their biographical coverage of executives is not very extensive, although I have found it helpful. The business and trade articles are a nice addition.

We are part of a large user group at Bear Stearns, so the cost was really minimal for us. I am definitely renewing for 1998.

If they have foreign cos, that's news to me -- I'll have to look into that. I'm not sure if our international branches are using it. Hope this helps.

-- Robin S. Sanders, Bear Stearns & Co., Inc, on November 11, 1997

We used it on a trial basis for about 3 weeks.

It's a good product for what it is - having all of the directories etc. in one place - but way overpriced. I pay as much for our subscription to Dow Jones on a monthly basis. More to the point, the breadth of resources is much, much larger. OneSource relies heavily on wire services and is very dated and limited - like two months to a year behind - newspaper and magazine materials.

I would have considered it seriously if the price had been more consistent with what they were offering.

-- Robert Burke, AAA Library, on November 20, 1997

We have been trying OneSource's Business Browser for the past couple of months, at a relatively small firm. There are a few limitations which they are starting to address, like historical stock prices which they promise in December. But we have found the product useful as a desktop research product, especially as a starting place for business, company specific and market information. I am not sure what one of your respondents meant by the very old magazine articles. I think it depends on the search. I ran a quick topic search this morning and found several articles, not wire stories, from November 1997. The biographical information is from Standard & Poor's service, so it can be quite dated. Business Browser is giving our researchers a place to start when we are not available to help them. And the SEC documents are formatted to print correctly!

I have found errors in the corporate structure profiles for private companies and their subsidiaries, but some of that information comes from Ward's Business Directories, so it may also be dated. For the size of our company, we are not sure yet about the cost/value answer. But we will probably keep using it this year. And continue to monitor the competition

I have not seen international company information. Hope this helps.

-- Cathy Mazza, The Parthenon Group, on November 20, 1997

Several respondents provided the following contact information for OneSource:

OneSource Information Services
150 Cambridge Park Drive
Cambridge, MA 02140
800-554-5501