There are many situations in which landscaping is appropriate, but in my experience these are the most common ones:
� An investor may already know a great deal about a target company's financial status, business model, and personnel. But the investor needs to understand the market to be served, its suppliers, its size and dynamics, and its predominant technologies before an investment can be judged a prudent one. Study the landscape.
� A company is contemplating adding a new product to its line, but that product will clearly be serving a market or customer different from the status quo. In other words, the initiative would be classified as a diversification. A landscaping activity prior to a major investment in the new product is needed to avoid failure and to judge the scale of the opportunity. Do it now, not later.
� A capable supplier serving a related niche is suddenly "on the block". The potential acquirer must conduct due diligence quickly to determine whether an acquisition would be sensible, but little is known about the target's domain of activity or its offered technologies. Call in the landscaping crew.
� Your company or a potential licensor has "invented" something. In order to establish the invention's value or whether intellectual property protection is even worthwhile, you need to examine the technological landscape for alternative methods and existing patents and patent applications. Put your technical specialists to work.
� You're looking for a new job, and an offer is imminent. You really shouldn't rely on everything the prospective employer tells you, so you decide to do some landscaping of your own to understand the target industry, its suppliers, and their market positions. (How many people do you know who really do this?)
There are more situations in which landscaping is helpful if not vital. But you get the idea.