The evolution of executive information system software

Abstract Executive information systems (EIS) may be developed from three categories of software: Custom-built software; full-featured vendor software specifically designed for EIS; or a combination of custom-built and general purpose vendor software. Based on data gathered from a survey of 50 companies with operational EIS, this study compares and contrasts the three types of EIS software. Twelve of the firms developed their EIS using custom-built software, 16 used full featured EIS vendor-supplied software, and 22 used a combination of custom-built software and general purpose vendor software. Study results suggest an evolution in EIS software from custom-built software toward the other two types of EIS software.