Information system

A method of collecting selected information, the method comprising the steps of:

• identifying subject matter of interest to a user;
• retrieving information items relating to the identified subject matter;
• rating the retrieved information items;
• and
• notifying the user of retrieved information items meeting a predetermined criteria.

A method of disseminating targeted information to a plurality of users within an organization, the method comprising the steps of:

• receiving from each of a plurality of users, a selected subject matter of interest to that user;
• storing for each user the subject matter selected by that user;
• accessing a plurality of information sources;
• retrieving information items relating to any of the stored selected subject matter;
• for each retrieved information item, applying an importance value to that item;
• and
• notifying each user of any retrieved information items meeting a predetermined criteria.

A business intelligence system comprising:

• subscribing means for allowing a user to select subject matter of interest to that user;
• searching means for accessing different information sources and for extracting from these sources any information items relating to the subject matter of interest;
• evaluating means for applying an importance value to each extracted information item;
• and
• notifying means for notifying the user about any information items meeting a predetermined criteria.

A method of configuring an information system, the method comprising the steps of:

• defining a subject matter of interest;
• identifying sources of information;
• identifying infrastructures to be used;
• and
• configuring the identified infrastructures to employ resources to access the sources of information to retrieve information items relating to the subject matter of interest.