Your information and analysis may have alerted you to the fact that your company needs to make some major changes in order to survive. This information can come in many forms such as a competitor who is in control of a large portion of the market share.
After you gather information, the next step is to determine how you will use this information make decisions. What insights did you gain during your analysis? How will these insights determine which decisions you will make?
Security can be a problem when it comes to protecting your data and your own company information.
Keep in mind that the practice of competitive intelligence is designed to be completely legal. It is not ethical to engage in illegal practices, such as espionage, to gather information. On the other side of the spectrum, how would you like it if your competition used illegal methods to gather information about you?