Today Reed-Elsevier announced the release of Scopus, its new database of indexed and abstracted (A&I) scientific literature. Elsevier has invested a great deal of resources in this product, and a lot of prestige is on the line.
This has been a long-awaited development in the scientific community, after one of most carefully orchestrated launches in recent memory. After establishing the standard and owning the space for access to scientific information, Thomson's ISI unit now faces direct Elsevier competition for scientific research tools.
Despite Scopus' intent to create a better user experience at the desktop, it remains to be seen whether Thomson's Web of Science customers will switch, especially after investing in years of backfiles.
And don't forget, Google continues to complicate matters and pose a threat to all A&I providers as it goes after "deep Web" content in the sciences.
