Decision Data

Decision Data Computer Corporation

Company type	Public company
Industry	Computer hardware
Founded	1969
Founder	Loren A. Schultz
Defunct	1988
Fate	Acquired and renamed Decision Data Inc.
Headquarters	Horsham, Pennsylvania , United States
Area served	United States, Europe, Canada
Key people	Loren A. Schultz (founder)
Products	Keypunch machines, IBM System/3-compatible products, System 4 midrange computer system, remote job entry terminals, teleprinters, line printers
Number of employees	1,965 (1990)

Decision Data Computer Corporation, which later became known as Decision Industries Corporation and subsequently Decision Data Inc., was a U.S.-based computer hardware manufacturer established in 1969 with its main office located in Horsham, Pennsylvania.

1970s

Established in 1969 by Loren A. Schultz (1927–2018), who previously served as a sales manager at Sperry Rand's UNIVAC division, Decision Data initially specialized in producing keypunch machines compatible with IBM’s midrange and mainframe computers. By 1975, the company had extended its manufacturing operations into Europe and completed its initial public stock offering.

From 1974 through 1976, the firm expanded its lineup to incorporate IBM System/3-compatible products, including a replica of the IBM 5496 Data Recorder, independent paper tape-to-punched card converters, MOSFET RAM expansion boards for the System/3 Model 10, programmable keypunch keyboards, and line printers originally designed by Dataproducts. In 1977, Decision Data launched the CS 780 remote job entry terminal along with the Model 3240 teleprinter.

Confronted with a downturn in aftermarket sales of IBM-related goods in early 1975, Decision Data introduced its own midrange computer system named the System 4. This product was co-developed with UNIVAC Sperry Rand and featured an Intel 8080 microprocessor with memory capacity up to 65 KB. By September of that year, approximately twenty units had been installed primarily within small businesses around Philadelphia. The company’s business model involved either leasing or selling its equipment, with some offerings priced in the lower five-figure range.

In 1976, Decision Data created a combined service bureau and hardware supplier branch called Decision Data Supplies and Service Organization; this later evolved into an independent subsidiary known as DecisionOne. By the late 1970s, this division operated seventy offices throughout the United States and Canada; by 1996, DecisionOne employed roughly 6,000 personnel.

The corporation struggled financially during the mid-1970s economic downturn, recording an $8.4 million loss in 1975. Nevertheless, revenues improved by 1977 as production of the System 4 increased. Aimed at first-time enterprise buyers and those upgrading from System/3 machines, the System 4 delivered performance on par with IBM’s System/34 and was compatible with Decision Data’s existing card readers—an advantage over IBM’s own native systems. Despite reaching record revenue figures by 1978, adoption rates for the System 4 were slower than expected, prompting a reduction in development efforts.

1980s – 1990s

In April 1986, the company changed its name from Decision Data Computer Corporation to Decision Industries Corporation. That same year, it acquired Panatec, Inc., a developer of applications and operating systems based in Garden Grove, California, along with the Beverage Systems Division of Endata—a Charlotte-based provider of integrated software and computer solutions for the beverage sector. A hostile takeover attempt by Econocom International N.V. was thwarted in 1987.

In September 1988, Onset Corporation completed a leveraged buyout of Decision Industries and rebranded it as Decision Data Inc., while retaining its subsidiaries Decision Data Computer Corporation and Decision Data Service. In 1992, Decision Data Inc. purchased most assets from Qantel Corporation, which was the reorganized form of Mohawk Data Sciences Corporation.

By 1990, Decision Data Inc.’s workforce numbered approximately 1,965 employees. Toward the end of that decade, the company was sold for $200 million—a notable milestone in its corporate history.