COTS software: the economical choice?

Abstract

A new trend in software commerce is emerging: generic software components, also called commercial off the shelf components, that contain fixed functionality. COTS components can be incorporated into other systems still under development so that the developing system and the generic components form a single functional entity. The role of COTS components is to help new software systems reach consumers more quickly and cheaply. Because arriving last to market spells sudden death in the software industry, any approach that carves days or weeks from a development schedule is worth considering. The article gives advice on taking the COTS option and the management decisions that have to be made.