Support : Publications : Chronolog Archives : September/October 2003

From the Experts...
Focus on SoftBase: Reviews, Companies, and Products

Product descriptions, company profiles, technology reviews--SoftBase (File 256) combines the facts you need with the opinions that matter. SoftBase is a guide to the information technology industry, linking detailed descriptions of products and companies to independent, third party reviews and analyses abstracted from more than 200 business, computer, technical, trade and consumer publications.

Whether you run a small business, assist researchers in an academic environment, or manage a division for a multinational corporation, you can identify the definitive information technology solutions for your situation with SoftBase. You can depend on SoftBase for complete research results on virtually any type of information technology--from online services, the Internet, and other electronic information products to industry specific and general use software. SoftBase covers the full range of computer hardware from hand-held to personal computers to workstations, mainframes and networks.

A searcher seeking to profile a company and a product can quickly discover not only information about trends and technologies, but also critical evaluations, systems requirements, product capabilities and complete company details. No other database makes it so easy to gather comprehensive information from one place.

For example, to profile Adobe Systems Inc., start by searching for the headquarters record by using the Document Type (DT=) and Record Type (RT=) prefixes along with the prefix for sales (SA=).

?S DT=COMPANY AND RT=DIRECTORY AND CO=ADOBE? AND SA>=1

Exploring further into the Adobe product line, you might want to see how the latest revision of one of its flagship products, Photoshop, is faring. The use of the RT prefix helps to deliver the review content specifically for the product you are interested in.

?S PN=ADOBE PHOTOSHOP 7? AND RT=REVIEW

SoftBase can also help the trademark searcher to conduct a trademark clearance. For instance, if you are considering using Phoenix as a product or service name in the information technology marketplace, use the PN suffix.

?s phoenix/pn

The insights you can attain with SoftBase can be great building blocks in conducting competitive assessment, trademark investigation, market share, pricing studies and even the selection of what software to purchase. Each record also contains the URLs that are pertinent to the topic, so that when you package your document for presentation, those URLs are hyperlinked for easier Web navigation. Be sure to include SoftBase (File 256) in your IT industry searching.

View sample record from SoftBase on Adobe Photoshop 7.0.

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