Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Application

A Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Application is a software product that is ready-made and available for sale to the general public, designed to be implemented easily into existing systems without the need for customization.

• Context:
  • It can be a Packaged Solutions which are then adapted to satisfy the needs of the purchasing organisation.
  • It can (typically) be acquired and used immediately with minimal installation and configuration efforts.
  • It can (often) cater to a broad range of functionalities and sectors, including business management, productivity, and security applications, serving both individual consumers and organizations.
  • It can range from basic utilities like word processors and antivirus software to more complex systems like ERP and CRM solutions.
  • It can be less expensive and faster to deploy compared to custom-built software, as the development costs are amortized over a large number of users.
  • It can offer support and updates from the vendor, although the level of customization and flexibility may be limited compared to bespoke solutions.
  • ...
• Example(s):
  • Microsoft Office,
  • Adobe Photoshop,
  • Kaspersky Antivirus,
  • Salesforce CRM,
  • ...
• Counter-Example(s):
  • Custom Software Application.
  • In-House Developed Software Application.
  • Open Source Software.
• See: Software as a Service (SaaS), Enterprise Software, Software Development, Web-based Commercial Off-The-Shelf Software, Vendor Lock-in, Custom Software, Government Off-The-Shelf, Software Development, Non-Recurring Engineering, Software Customization, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM).

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References

2024a

• (Wikipedia, 2024) ⇒ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commercial_off-the-shelf Retrieved:2024-4-28.
  • Commercial-Off-The-Shelf or commercially available off-the-shelf (COTS) products are packaged or canned (ready-made) hardware or software, which are adapted aftermarket to the needs of the purchasing organization, rather than the commissioning of custom-made, or bespoke, solutions. A related term, Mil-COTS, refers to COTS products for use by the U.S. military.

    In the context of the U.S. government, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) has defined "COTS" as a formal term for commercial items, including services, available in the commercial marketplace that can be bought and used under government contract. For example, Microsoft is a COTS software provider. Goods and construction materials may qualify as COTS but bulk cargo does not. Services associated with the commercial items may also qualify as COTS, including installation services, training services, and cloud services. COTS purchases are alternatives to custom software or one-off developments – government-funded developments or otherwise. Although COTS products can be used out of the box, in practice the COTS product must be configured to achieve the needs of the business and integrated to existing organizational systems. Extending the functionality of COTS products via custom development is also an option, however this decision should be carefully considered due to the long term support and maintenance implications. Such customized functionality is not supported by the COTS vendor, so brings its own sets of issues when upgrading the COTS product. The use of COTS has been mandated across many government and business programs, as such products may offer significant savings in procurement, development, and maintenance. Motivations for using COTS components include hopes for reduction system whole of life costs.

    In the 1990s, many regarded COTS as extremely effective in reducing the time and cost of software development.COTS software came with many not-so-obvious tradeoffs – a reduction in initial cost and development time over an increase in software component-integration work, dependency on the vendor, security issues and incompatibilities from future changes.

2024b

• (ChatGPT-OpenAI, 2024) ⇒ Prompt: Summarize the concept Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) Software in 1- 2 paragraphs. ChatGPT (model:gpt-4-turbo-preview). Retrieved: 2024-04-28.
  • QUOTE: Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software refers to ready-made applications or solutions that are available for purchase and use by the general public or organizations. Unlike custom-built software that is developed to meet the specific needs of a particular user or business, COTS software is designed to satisfy a broad set of requirements, making it suitable for a wide user base. These products are typically developed by companies specializing in software and are sold or licensed to users with standard functionalities that cater to common business or personal computing needs. Examples include office productivity suites, antivirus programs, and customer relationship management (CRM) systems.

    The major advantage of COTS software lies in its immediate availability and cost-effectiveness. Since it is mass-produced, the development costs are spread over many customers, making it more affordable than bespoke software solutions. Moreover, COTS solutions are usually well-tested and come with user manuals, support, and updates, reducing the time and resources needed for implementation and maintenance. However, because they are designed for a wide range of users, COTS products may not perfectly fit an organization's specific needs without some customization, which can potentially reduce some of the initial cost and time benefits. Despite this, for many applications, the trade-off between customization and cost-efficiency makes COTS an attractive option for businesses and individuals alike.

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