Data-Driven Decisions

Business Tools and Research

Florida SBDCs provide access to data and information generally unaffordable or unavailable to existing and aspiring small and medium-sized businesses. Through its affiliations and partnerships with institutions of higher education, our certified professionals utilize high-cost databases, business research resources, and tools, including those listed below, to assist businesses that are poised for growth and ready for our services. Together with our team of support and professional consultants, we put that information to work to help grow businesses.

ReferenceUSA — is a market research database with detailed information on over 14 million U.S. businesses, 262 million U.S. consumers and their lifestyles, and international companies. Map-based geography searches and neighborhood data make this a useful tool in researching target markets and the competition.

IBISWorld — is the largest provider of Industry Research in the US. The comprehensive collection of economic, demographic, and government data reports help identify business operating risks and opportunities across 1,300+ industries. Each industry report includes the most detailed performance data and analysis on the market; procurement analysis; supply chain information; forecasts; operating strengths and weaknesses; analysis of external drivers; major player market strategies; and industry profit and costs benchmarks. IBISWorld has also recently developed a new ‘Specialized' Industries report collection that extends upon the NAICS collection and includes new and emerging industries that are not necessarily covered in their entirety by NAICS.

BizMiner — provides industry reports that track 9,000 lines of business at local and national levels. This tool also provides access to industry financial ratios and industry market statistics, offering industry financial analysis benchmarks for over 5,000 lines of business and industry market trends on thousands more. Thousands of industry financial analyses are provided for accountants to help their clients establish business goals and benchmarks.

ProfitCents — allows Florida SBDC consultants to benchmark their clients' financial performance against more than 1,400 industry averages on 60 ratios and metrics and forecast financial decision-making and its results on business performance.

ProfitMastery — offers clients access to the world's leading business financial management system designed to help businesses improve profitability and cash flow, and to obtain financing.

BidMatch — Offered through Outreach Systems, BidMatch provides the most comprehensive database of bid opportunities on the market, sophisticated tools available for filtering those bid opportunities, and a web-based delivery system that brings bid opportunities directly to your clients' desktops. Florida PTAC procurement specialists can offer qualified clients free access to this resource to identify business opportunities, access solicitations and win more contracts. Clients receive email notifications of bid opportunities for specific products and services from over 1,500 federal, state and local bid-posting sites.

D&B Hoovers — leverages the world's largest commercial database of 120 million business records and analytics to deliver a sales intelligence solution that enables sales and marketing professionals to focus on the right prospects so they can generate immediate growth for their business.

FedMine — home for all prime contracts and federal business opportunities on the Internet today. It is the only tool on the federal market that simplifies the pursuit of federal business opportunities in the easiest way possible.