Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS)
With free alternatives available, why do commercial application suites
dominate current enterprises? These suites are popular because they work
together seamlessly, can be set up or recovered rapidly because there are
fewer configurable options, and are familiar to most users. Fully inte-
grated suites such as Microsoft's Office and IBM's WebSphere allow users
to pick and choose from a range of applications designed to work together.
This integration extends from application-level interoperability through
standardization of the user interface, so that standard control functions
can be found in the same location across platform elements. The ability to
find a File -> Save or Print option in the same location every time makes
these platforms and packages much more attractive to many users and
can translate to a shorter learning curve and enhanced productivity when
new applications are introduced into the enterprise network.
Although open-source equivalents exist for almost all commercial
packages, they are seen as lower-quality or less featured products by com-
mercial software proponents. One of Novell's OpenOffice developers
noted at the 2006 LinuxWorld conference that a spreadsheet that opened
in Microsoft's Office Excel program in roughly 30 seconds took almost
3 hours to open in Calc, the FOSS OpenOffice equivalent. This issue is
only a problem for businesses with complex spreadsheets, but the one-for-
one compatibility issue is valid.
Commercial vendors generate a revenue stream through licensing
fees, which may be one-time or recurring. Open-source advocates note
that user comfort with the standard interface and licensing investments
may create a “vendor lock-in” that can be exploited by the technology
vendor. Proponents of commercial enterprises note that a clear upgrade
path will exist in moving from current technologies to emerging future
versions, because vendors will want to make it easy to move to their
newer versions.
Commercial technologies may be easier for some users, because
they are built following accessibility and global character set require-
ments. The standard interface for administrative tools and user applica-
tions may also make it easier to replace key personnel during turnover,
because those who are experienced in a commercial technology such
as SAP or Oracle/PeopleSoft will find another implementation of the
same technology very similar. Disaster recovery may also be easier for
