At this point it is basically inarguable that the internet has made the world a smaller place. Now data that was once only available in a foreign country can be accessed from our desktops. However, it would be a mistake to think that locating international data is as easy as checking the census bureau. Creating a comprehensive list of websites for international business research is a monumental task. Each country is unique, as are its information sources. In addition, many countries do not share North America’s democratic attitude toward sharing information, and many governments have not compiled and archived data, let alone made it available to the public. Needless to say, researching a foreign company, country, or industry may be difficult, and the research process will probably take longer than usual. But the task is easing, as more and more information-rich sites from countries around the world are made available. At Henderson Robb we provide this service to some of our customers seeking marketing solutions, insights, and examples in the global marketplace. As you might expect, many of the sites you find will not be in English, so if you don’t speak the language in question, do what we do, start with a good dictionary or a bilingual freelance content specialist.

Fortunately for us, many librarians, information specialists, and business people have recognized the difficulty of researching a foreign country or industry and have created metasites, or portals, that can serve as great starting places for our research. Take advantage as we do of the efforts of these individuals who have already scoured the web, selected and reviewed the best websites, and organized them.

Be aware that many North American business information sites also have versions that operate in other countries. For example, the respected information provider Hoovers, Inc. (www.hoovers.com) has corporate and financial information on thousands of companies in North America. Hoovers also operates a site in the United Kingdom at www.hoovers.com/uk that covers news and financial information on British companies. The accounting information portal AccountingWeb (www.accountingweb.com) has a site in the United Kingdom at www.acountingweb.co.uk.

We never overlook country-specific general search engines like Google as a resource for tracking down business information. Google offers international researchers a suite of language tools (access them by clicking on the language tools link on the Google home page www.google.com). The language the language tools include a translation program for the translation text on Web pages and an option to set the Google interface to a selected language. (There are over 80 language choices, including pig latin.) The language tools page also includes a link to the dozens of country-specific Google sites like Google U.K. and www.google.co.uk and Google Liechtensteinat www.google.li.

Information services such as LexisNexis and Dialog, are also resources we like for international information. These services have hundreds of global news sources, economic analyses, and international company data.

If you’d like to know more about a particular industry such as financial and need more in-depth knowledge we’d would be more than happy to help you find more detailed search guides. We can tell you those that we have found to be reliable sources of statistics and analysis presented in easily accessible format. Some sites may focus on a niche area, be fee-only, or have limited navigation and output features.