AnnuAl REpORt - Bisnode

10The businessinformation marketAn increasing flow of information, regulatory changes and new technologies arereshaping the market for digital business information. The way informationis presented, experienced and used is changing dramatically and creatinga business environment of both opportunities and challenges.Business information consists of a rangeof different types of data, includingcorporate and consumer information.Industry analysts estimate the numberof potential users at approximately 20million and forecast the relevant marketto be worth around sek 300 billion inEurope, with a long term annual growthrate of about three to five per cent.The European market for digitalbusiness information is fragmentedwith many competing players, especiallyat the local and regional level. Theconsolidation trend is continuing amongsmall local operators.Constant change generatesopportunitiesNew opportunities and user patternsemerge as the regulatory frameworkchanges and new technologies arelaunched – mobile, social, personal,semantic web and portable devices.The way information is presented,experienced and used is changingdramatically. Significant market driversinclude ever-increasing amounts of informationand closer system integrationwith end-users.Although the fixed costs for collectingand managing information are relativelyhigh, the additional cost for packagingand distribution is low. This providesscope for large economies of scale as usernumbers increase. Price pressure hasrisen as the volume of information hasgrown, making quality assurance, dataenhancement and value added servicesmore important.Demand for more sophisticatedonline solutionsUnderlying trends in Bisnode’s marketsinclude continued digitalisation withbroader and more sophisticated onlineservices and more cost-effective directmarketing at the expense of mass-marketmailings, as well as new low-cost playersin the risk and credit information market.In order to maintain and strengthenthe Group’s market position, Bisnodemust offer more customised products andservices including refined and exclusiveinformation. The most important step tosucceed is to embrace new technologies,devices and user patterns and toimplement these into new concepts andsolutions in the market at the right time.EMBRACE NEW TECHNOLOGIES,DEVICES AND USER PATTERNS,AND IMPLEMENT THESEIN NEW CONCEPTS ANDSOLUTIONS PROVIDINGADDITIONAL CUSTOMER VALUE