URL: http://access.gale.com/califa2006
Date: October, 2006
Participating Libraries: Monrovia Public, Watsonville Public, County of Los Angeles Public, Palos Verdes Library District, Glendale Public, Riverside Public, South San Francisco Public Libraries.
Comments below are in no particular order and are listed in order to provide an idea of the spectrum of opinions from participating librarians.
Additionally, we have given Gale the opportunity to respond to the review, so their comments are interspersed, and preceded by .
Product Description: BizInfo is a business database that allows users to look up 12 million U.S. companies. It provides contact information, demographic data, and commercial intelliscores (scores that blend an owner’s credit score with that of his business) gathered from Experian and resold through Gale. Users can search for individual companies or do searches for multiple businesses by geographic location or industry type. Marketing and distribution lists can be created from search results.
The Califa offering also includes up to 37 e-books (depending on which package the library purchases), also reviewed here, including: Business Plans Handbook volumes 1-10, Encyclopedia of Business and Finance, Encyclopedia of Management, Encyclopedia of Public Relations, Gale Ecommerce Sourcebook, among others.
Consider the functionality and ease of use of the interface. Is it intuitive or is an excessive amount of training required? Are any crucial features missing from the search interface?
The interface was seen as easy to use and intuitive, but it was pointed out that there was a lack of an advanced search.
Sample comments:
The search interface was intuitive and easy to use, but I somehow found it a bit cumbersome and a little irritating. Searching by the industrial codes and the yellow page heading was not as smooth as it could be. I had to do a lot of back and forth searching to find specific types of industries.
The search interface for both company reports and marketing lists are easy to use, the pop up glossaries for each search field are very useful. The “lookups” for the various codes (SIC, NAICS…) are easy to use. The screen layout was excellent, very clear and functional. The search fields are intuitive I was able to do searches without any training.
The BizInfo Company Report results are presented in alphabetical order without an option to arrange them another way. The ability to limit a search by Geography, Industry, Company and Credit Score information is useful in the Marketing Report section of this product. The default listing for e-book results is relevance with the option to sort alphabetically by title or publication source. The more options the better for our patrons in this case.
Patrons would benefit and request that the Company Report results from BizInfo Online be downloadable to a flash drive or disk. I would suggest something similar to the download capabilities available for the Marketing Reports. That option is not apparent from the trial version so other than printing the entire page, copy and paste would be the only option to save the data.
Users may download the file into CSV, tab and other formats. The default is email so that the user can send the lists to their own accounts. If the user wants to download at the library, they should select the browser function which will prompt them to save or open the files.
After a keyword is entered in the e-books product that word or phrase is highlighted within each of the documents. This detail helps the user determine relevance and interest in the text.
A major shortcoming of the interface is the lack of an advanced search option. For advanced users who have specific searches in mind, this is a serious omission. There is no way, for example, to search for companies whose corporate headquarters are located in a given city.
BizInfo’s advanced search is the Marketing List search form and in turn the advanced search form. Fields supported on the Marketing List function are equal to the pieces of content available within each record. Any or all of the fields found on the Marketing List can be combined in any combination.
The marketing list feature is a nice addition. This is something that our patrons have asked for. Other products that we have used did not offer anything like this, and patrons complained about how cumbersome it was to compile a marketing list.
Quality of information and Sources Provided: 3, 3, 3, 3, 2.5, 1, 3 Average 2.64
Consider its functionality, the appropriateness of format, the content of the information, and the adequacy of coverage.
The information was seen as informative and adequate, though not as in-depth as Gale’s own Business and Company Resource Center which covers thousands of companies while BizInfo covers more than 12 million. There were also concerns about how the information was collected, and there were some holes in results.
Sample comments:
Coverage for most companies searched was similar; some of the smaller companies did not have the Experian credit information. I would have liked to see more information about how the credit summaries for each company are developed. When companies did have liens/judgments against them there was not enough information. It would be nice if instructions were provided on how users could obtain more information regarding liens/judgments against specific companies.
While BizInfo is not as comprehensive or functional as ReferenceUSA, it does provide solid information for the majority of users. The information is updated monthly and is authoritative. If a business finds incorrect information, they can send in a request to Experian to have it updated.
One assumes that the Experian data means that the credit summary is up-to-date and accurate. I searched a Long Beach business and found it had been issued a lien for taxes; however, ReferenceUSA gave the same business an “excellent” credit rating, and indicated the lien had been issued in error. I found a business name misspelled and one of the SIC codes for Cold Stone Creamery was “Brick, Stone, and Related Construction Materials”! Automated indexing has its drawbacks I liked the marketing list feature and the customizable nature of the data—this is a plus over ReferenceUSA.
Experian corroborates the information for each company at a rate of 80%, meaning that information on a company may be corrected by the owner but is also verified by independent sources. In this case, if the company in question is provided we can research and follow up on our findings with the committee.
BizInfo Online:
The Company and Marketing reports include basic information about each business, similar to what is offered by ReferenceUSA. You can search by a variety of fields including Geography, Industry, Company and Credit. Each of those sections gives the user an opportunity to narrow down and specify the type of data he or she is hoping to find.
All of the information found within this product is “acquired directly from government sources and industry leading vendors” (FAQ), which doesn’t identify exactly from where this information is coming.
Experian conducts over 4 Million televerifiction contacts per month and 80% of the records have been corroborated with independent sources.
An item worth noting is that many of the Experian BizInfo Online Reports have been updated more than 6 months ago. Due to a variety of factors, many businesses in the Glendale Galleria and its vicinity are closing with new stores opening in their place. This detail may seem particular, but there is a large population of small businesses in Glendale and current information is important. Using this trial it was noticed that some businesses listed were no longer in operation and new stores were not mentioned.
We would be happy to take the companies in question back to Experian for further research and findings.
Only about 3/4 of the companies have phone numbers included. Our patrons ask for business phone numbers just as much as they ask for addresses and it is important that our resources provide that information.
Every attempt is made to confirm phone numbers. However our desire for breadth of coverage, we are including records with out them which represent approximately 1M records, or .less than 10% of the database.
Manager contact information also seems to be out of date. In one sample, I checked the Aveda Environmental Lifestyle Store in Glendale, CA. Comparing the Aveda store using ReferenceUSA and BizInfo Online, Reference USA has the correct manager (I called!) and BizInfo has a manager listed who no longer works at the store.
This has been reported to Experian for verification and updating.
I am not comfortable with the way information is collected. Relying completely on outside agencies for information about a company leaves a wide margin for error. I would expect that the background information for a company come from the company itself.
80% of the records are verified by independent sources, it is not to say that information is not collected by the company itself but rather they can not self report. Experian’s ability to verify information ensures accuracy as it relates to credit and revenue size, rather than use estimates that typically used in other services.
I’m not completely sure about how useful the credit summary is. This information clearly comes from a highly reputable source, but I don’t know how much value it adds to the overall product.
I would give a higher rating to a similar product that did not have as detailed credit rating information but had a better method of collecting basic information on a company.
I see the primary use of this database as a tool for developing marketing lists; there is little else to recommend about it.
eBooks:
Patrons in our library system would greatly benefit from online access to the Business Plans Handbook series offered in Packages 1 and 2. Package 2 offers a few more ebook titles and the material found in both packages is basic and appropriate for the general public. The additional materials offered in Package 3 are too advanced for most of our clientele. Package 3 is more appropriate for a college or community college library setting.
The information found in eBooks comes directly from Gale’s print products, but fact sheets about those products were not found in this trial.
The eBooks product offers automated translations of the documents in Spanish, French, Japanese, German, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Korean which is certainly beneficial to the patrons in the many diverse communities within California.
Help & User Support: 1, NA, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3: Average: 2.16
If documentation is required for successful use of product, is it available, comprehensive, and well written? Is online help adequate and user friendly? Does vendor supply training if it is needed? Is a telephone helpline available?
Help was a bit of a problem for our reviewers. For the ones who could find the help information, it was seen as just adequate, and lacking in some basic information. But half of our reviewers couldn’t find the help area at all, hence the disparity in scores.
Sample comments:
There was no help screen available for this trial. The product did have an FAQ, which answered some basic questions. Instructions for creating marketing lists and distribution lists were clear and easy to follow. I felt that the glossary was a nice feature to include for users, like myself, who do not have a large business vocabulary. I was concerned that users were directed to contact their local librarian if they had problems using the product. Who does the librarian contact for help?
Librarians should contact Gale Technical Support at gale.technicalsupport@thomson.com or 1800-877-4253 option 4.
The “help” page is well written and very user friendly once you find it. I do not like the fact that when you click on the help tab it takes you to an intermediary screen. The user then has to click again to get the FAQ page. There is a FAQ option at the very top of every page, but it is not the first thing you see. I especially liked the glossary. Between that and the FAQ, most of the information the user needs to know regarding using BizInfo is presented. Plus, Gale offers webcast training on BizInfo and telephone support to subscribers.
BizInfo: There are large question mark icons throughout the site that explain the fields and or sections the users are seeing. A popup window opens and gives an explanation of the section with a sample entry, making this option friendly to the users. Additionally, on the top right side of each page there is a standard FAQ link with responses to the users’ most common questions about the product. On the other hand, there is a HELP tab on the BizInfo main page with no content or search box. I do not see any vender-supplied training options nor do I see contact information, phone, chat or email, for users with questions about the product.
Help tab doesn’t lead anywhere the ? links sometime assume a level of knowledge that may be too high for some users.
eBooks: Each page of the eBooks site offers a tailored help option. It is not flashy, but the content is valuable, simple and well-written.
As noted in the Search Interface section above, there are question marks next to each search field that the user can click on for help. This is the extent of online help that is provided.
The main search page has a ‘Help’ tab clearly laid out next to the ‘Company Report’ and ‘Marketing List’ tabs. However, the Help tab contains no information aside from a bar that says Help. I’m not sure if this area will eventually be filled with help topics, but I can’t imagine paying for a product that has such a glaring omission. The database also does not provide any contact information or training support
Is access/connection to product reliable and stable? Is response time adequate?
Access was more than adequate for the searches performed.
Sample comments:
Response time was quick and the information appeared to be reliable.
Product is easy to access, reliable and stable. There were no problems with access or connectivity.
In the short amount of time spent testing the database, I did not encounter any problems. I would guess that service is going to be reliable since this product is coming from Experian and Gale.
Cost: 3, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1, 3: Average 2.29
Cost: if cost is available, does it seem reasonable in terms of comparable products?
Cost was seen as expensive for smaller libraries, though perhaps of interest to larger systems. In most cases it was higher than what a library was paying for ReferenceUSA.
Sample comments:
The cost was a bit pricey for the both the e-books and database.
The cost for the Bizinfo database is comparable to similar products that I have used in the past. Unfortunately, I think the price is prohibitive for a smaller public library. The amount of use similar products have got in the past at my library has not justified the cost of those products. I believe that the cost of the database would be worthwhile for a larger system or for a consortium to purchase.
The price is very reasonable compared to other comparable databases, such as ReferenceUSA.
It seems high based on the above noted shortcomings; over twice what we pay for ReferenceUSA
The annual cost of this product is expensive. Pricing is divided into tiers for each of the three packages (BizInfo and eBooks) and at the rates they have offered our library would not pay for this product. Our library falls into the Tier 4 pricing population.
We would have to pay a few thousand dollars more for the BizInfo Online database (without the eBooks) than we currently pay for ReferenceUSA.
The smallest BizInfo package costs as much as we were paying for Reference USA. In my opinion, the added business reference titles do not add any substantial value to the package. Reference USA is several orders of magnitude better than BizInfo in terms of ease of use, comprehensiveness, and quality and reliability of information, so I do not see any possible justification for recommending this database on a cost basis.
It is important to remember that the pricing for BizInfo is inclusive of the following; 500 downloads per user per session and remote access. In discussions with librarians believe this is the most generous usage policy available as compared to similar resources.
Overall Assessment:
I would find it more helpful if it indicated whether the business was a corporate headquarters or a subsidiary. I found the searching a bit cumbersome. I would like the option to print selected entries from the sample results list. The inclusion of linked web sites of the companies and to have the SIC and the NAIC codes link would also be helpful. The Help tab was not helpful.
Overall, this product was very accessible and provided useful information. I believe it would be a valuable tool for businesses trying to break into a market and get basic information about competitors or potential businesses customers. It is also great for individuals trying to find information on a specific business. The database was very inclusive, I found information on several small local companies that I could not locate elsewhere. This product would be great in any library that has a large demand for business information.
BizInfo is not as comprehensive as ReferenceUSA nor does it allow the user to customize searches as much. The business information is from Experian’s business database, whereas, ReferenceUSA pulls from more sources. There is a short learning curve for first-time users and the FAQ is not prominently displayed. Because the product is offered through a third-party, access is through IP authentication which could present a problem for smaller libraries. That being said, BizInfo is very reasonably priced. The user can create a marketing list and/or a distribution list which can be emailed in a variety of formats. The search interface is straightforward and fairly easy to use with little instruction. The FAQ and glossary are well written. Gale has a good reputation and provides excellent training and customer service. Overall, I feel BizInfo is a good database that provides most of the information a user may want or need.
I found it disappointing for the above cited issues.
My overall experience with this product was satisfactory. The information was well-laid out, easy to find and the content for the most part was credible. User support and FAQs were evident on nearly every page. The pages loaded quickly thanks to the text-heavy content and that is always appreciated. The cost, however, is prohibitive for a library of our size.
I can't recommend that Califa subscribe to this product. The quality and content of the information does not justify its high cost.
