One of the most challenging tasks faced by business executives today is keeping abreast of new developments in an ever-changing market. Managers not only have to keep pace with new develop-ments in their respective industries, but they also need to be aware of new developments in such areas as supply chain management, balanced scorecard and Six Sigma.

CNET Networks, a respected producer of online content, is beta testing a site for finding news about these topic areas as well as information on companies who are industry leaders in those areas. The site, Business Updates, is a news aggregation portal covering fifteen topics. Each topic contains updates through news provided from traditional media, blogs, and press releases.

Some of the topics include:

• Biotechnology
• Brand Management
• Competitive Analysis
• Mergers and Acquisitions
• Outsourcing
• Revenue Recognition
• Sarbanes-Oxley
• Six Sigma
• Strategic Analysis and Planning
• Supply Chain Management

This beta version also covers fifteen companies, including:

• Bank of America
• Citigroup
• Exxon
• Mobil
• Ford
• Morgan Stanley
• Wal-Mart

News sources for information on these companies and related topics include:

• The New York Times
• Forrester Research
• Brand Autopsy
• Corp Law Blog
• Offshoring Digest
• VentureBlog
• ABC News
• Business and Legal Report
• Fast Company
• Reuters
• Washington Post

In addition, the topic areas have white papers and case studies available for downloading. For example, the Strategic Analysis and Planning Update area has links to a Strategic Business Modeling white paper from the Harvard Business Review; a Strategic Audit of Barnes & Noble; and a presentation on how to conduct your own SWOT analysis. Most of the resources are free, but some link to premium content.

For an idea of what Business Updates may expand into, see the sister site, Technology Updates. Although Technology Updates is also in beta, it now has information on forty topics and seventy-three companies.

About the Author
Eva M. Lang, CPA/ABV, ASA of Memphis, Tennessee, is the Executive Director of the Financial Consulting Group. She is the co-author of the "Best Websites for Financial Professionals" and a frequent speaker on the topic of Internet Research. Eva can be reached at elang@gofcg.org.