What is the best place to start with research in general, including market and industry trends, as well as how to pursue competitive intelligence?

I'd start with my preferred search engine and read up on anything i can find, and look for industry reports or stats that paint my product in the right light.

As for competitive intelligence, I'd also start with a Google search, but also look for review forums (think like a G2 type site) and look for how customers are talking about a product. If my company has any clients who have switched from a competitor, then those are great customers to target to learn from. It's probably also beneficial to do win/loss analysis and deal post mortems to learn more about the competition you're running into on a daily basis.