Abstract
Offers a number of comments and observations on the Business Information Resources Survey 2003 from the viewpoint of the work and experience of OneSource. A comparison is made between this Survey and selected results taken from the OneSource Information Services 2002 customer survey. Although the BIR Survey respondents indicated a decline in use of OneSource for financial information (from 19% to 7%), this finding is not supported by OneSource’s own statistics, where company financials data was found to remain the most popular type of content, client retention rates remain very high and overall usage rose considerably. OneSource saw a 23% increase in the number of active users during 2002, whilst during the same period the total number of client sites grew by 6%, suggesting a greater intensity of both users and usage within subscribing organisations and demonstrating more widespread usage of business information. Both surveys point to the fact that the roles of information professionals and the business information sector are evolving, with evidence of a more strategic approach to knowledge sharing, a commitment to the sector and a growing level of in- depth usage. Nevertheless, there are still areas of concern, particularly the lack of a true partnership and relationship between buyer and seller that is exacerbated by current economic conditions. While it is not possible to predict what 2003 will bring for the economy and the industry at large, how information professionals choose to address their future is very much in their own hands.
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