Technology-oriented competitive intelligence is CI that permits a firm to respond to threats, as well as to identify and exploit opportunities, resulting from technical and scientific change. Technology-oriented CI, as we use the term, encompasses much of what was, and is, referred to as technology intelligence (TI), or competitive technical intelligence (CTI).

Technology-oriented CI, supporting technology strategies as well as research and development, has become a growth area within CI. Practitioners of technology-oriented CI also provide their own valuable insights on organizational and management issues through technology-oriented CI. In particular, TI is a function that, if executed properly, should result in a saving of from 10 to 100 times the money invested in the effort.