This article has examined the changing role of MKIS. The types of questions to which MKIS need to respond have been identified, and the range of types of MKIS systems are introduced. It is proposed that the marketing mix is extended to include 5 ‘P’s, the conventional four: product, price, place and promotion, plus data Processing. MKIS face a number of challenges over the next few years in response to changes in the marketing and information systems environment. In particular, they will need to develop to handle ever more complex market analysis and to accommodate the challenges posed by new methods of marketing and selling such as teleshopping and direct marketing.