A model for automated technological surveillance of web portals and social networks

Technology can influence the reduction of operational costs, quality control, increase scale or can be a competitive advantage for industry. It influences industry structural changes and could create new industries. On the other hand, without enough investments it can limit the growth of an industrial sector. Therefore, a systemic understanding of the technological scenario is necessary. Several organizations have implemented Technology Surveillance systems (TS) to execute structured processes in order to identify and monitor technologies from formal sources of information, such as scientific articles and patents. However, with the ever smaller cycles of technological innovation and an unprecedented volume of information passing through different digital channels, like portals, specialized databases and social networks, the technological monitoring has become a challenge, especially with the current Big Data scenarios. This work presents a conceptual model and architecture for technology surveillance automated systems from web portals and social networks sources. The model is divided into four key modules (collection, preparation, analysis and diffusion) and two auxiliary ones (parameterization and persistence). To evaluate this approach a case study was carried out in which a computer system prototype was developed and implemented in an organization. The results demonstrated its feasibility and the developed system is still in use today.