Hoover's is one of FIT Library's paid databases and the best way to access it is from our database pages; you need to log in using your currently valid FIT user name and password. (There is a free version of Hoover's out there but it doesn't give as much info);
Hoovers is a good place to start for
"about this company " which includes an overview of what it does, history, basic operations and strategy
list of company brand names and products
finances, especially for public companies (those traded on the stock market)
list of competitors, with statistical comparisons on sales and operations (e.g. "inventory turnover")
Not all information is available for every company, though.
Another good database to use for this kind of info is Business Insights Essentials. There's totally different content there, and you can also use it to check and verify that the info you found in Hoover's is current, accurate, and reliable.
If you're having trouble connecting to Hoover's from a link your professor gave you, or even from the FIT Library website, check out our troubleshooter; it lists our most common database problems and how to solve them.
The most common problem we are seeing with using Hoover's seems to browser related. In some cases, once you've logged into Hoovers and try to come back later, it asks you to log in again--but not through the regular FIT login. The quickest fix is to open up a different browser (e.g. Chrome instead of Safari) or clear your browser cache or history. It should "reset" the page so that you can sign in with your FIT user and password. That works most of the time, but contact us if you still can't get in. There was an unusual Hoovers access problem ("IP address blocked") In November 2018 that was eventually resolved. If you see something like that again, please let us know!
If you are not a current FIT or SUNY student or employee, you must request an appointment in order to use the FIT Library. Please see Visit the Libraryand submit your request through the form on that page.