In the competition of becoming more and more competitive in the short term small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are losing out. In order to take strategic decisions in an always more complex environment a reliable source of information is indispensable. The problem encountered by SMEs is the procurement, structuring and systematic exploitation of information. A solution may come in the form of a new software which was developped by the Fraunhofer IAO in the course of an EU project called »AMI-SME«.
»AMI-SME« stands for »Analysis of Marketing Information for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises«. According to the Fraunhofer IAO, the user friendly and ontology based software makes it possible to store search results, documents and the knowledge extracted therefrom in a special structure which grows in accordance with the company itself. Within this structure documents may be allocated to several searches and projects. It is also possible to easily modify them via mobile access and without internet access.
Successful trials of AMI-SME took place in small and medium-sized enterprises to which structured information about international target markets is of high importance. The software in question is suitable for use by SMEs, consultants and associations.
The »AMI-SME« project was carried out by the Fraunhofer IAO in co-operation with twelve other companies and research institutions from Spain, Italy, Poland, Austria and Germany and successfully completed at the beginning of 2007. More information is available online. 