Explain why businesses have shown a growing interest in technologies that support their decision makers.

What will be an ideal response?

Since the 1970s, organizations have mostly focused their investment in new computer systems that
automate business processes. In this way, the businesses gained competitive advantage through systems
that offered more efficient and cost-effective services to the customer. Throughout this period,
businesses accumulated growing amounts of data stored in their operational databases. However, in
recent times, where such systems are common place, businesses are focusing on ways to use
operational data to support decision-making, as a means of gaining competitive advantage.
The successful implementation of a decision support technology can bring major benefits to an
organisation including:
Growing number of vendors are providing a range of BI tools to support the decision makers with
differing technical skills.
Decision maker can access tools that enable interactive querying/reporting/model building using a
range of internal and external data sources.
Potential high returns on investment
Move towards more fact-based decision means that decisions can be faster and more correct.
Increased productivity of corporate decision-makers
Opportunities for launching new products into new markets can be explored with less risk.
Competitive advantage