An Overview of Cloud-Based Decision Support Applications and a Reference Model

Abstract

Major shifts have occurred in the past 70 years in the deployment of decision support applications. Now it is possible to deploy innovative and traditional Decision Support Systems (DSS) and decision algorithms using Cloud architectures and technologies. Cloud deployment with hand-held, mobile-device platforms is encouraging decision support experimentation and innovation. This survey article emphasizes the-how, especially the architecture, the-what, the-who, the-when, and thewhy of building Cloud-based decision support and decision automation. To assist in conceptualizing cloud-based decision support and analytics, and to facilitate easier understanding and communication, a hierarchical reference model is presented using multiple perspectives. Additionally, the proposed decision support reference architecture model is used to assess cloudbased decision support systems from the prior literature.