The rapidly changing nature of technology is impacting organizations large and small. New phenomena such as mobile, cloud, Internet of Things (IoT), and “Big Data” are driving forces in organizational digital transformation. Subsequently, decision support and decision support systems are no longer specific to senior management. Increasingly computerized decision support, in the form of data analytics and business intelligence, is available to knowledge workers across the business. Today business professionals need to learn about and understand computerized decision support. For organizations to succeed, a business-first approach is essential. This means that the business opportunity/problem is well understood and the most appropriate computerized decision support technology is obtained. This introductory text is targeted to busy managers and MBA students who need to grasp the basics of computerized decision support, including: What is analytics? What is a decision support system? What is “Big Data”? What are the “Big Data” business use cases? Overall this resource addresses 61 fundamental questions relevant to understanding the rapidly changing realm of computerized decision support and analytics. In a short period of time, readers can “get up to speed” on decision support, analytics, and business intelligence. The text then provides a quick reference to important recurring questions.
Keywords
analytics, basic concepts, big data, business applications, business intelligence, computerized support, data, decision making, decision support systems, decision support, innovative DSS, knowledge management, knowledge, types of decision support