Commercial Off-the-Shelf Packages
The current IT trend is to purchase COTS packages instead of developing components in-house from scratch. While this approach has many benefits, it also poses unique challenges.
Interview an IT professional who has had experience integrating COTS packages in his or her organization. Ask the following questions (at a minimum):
- Why did the IT department or organization choose this approach over building a solution in-house?
- What were the benefits and challenges associated with this choice, particularly when integrating the COTS solution with existing technologies?
- What integration strategies/technologies were used?
- Was the effort considered successful by the IT department and the organization as a whole?
Post a brief description of your interview, summarizing the answers to the questions you asked. Also, be sure to identify the field or industry this IT professional serves in, as well as their department (personal/organization names are not necessary).
Then, evaluate what you heard in your interview. What observations, criticisms, or suggestions would you have contributed to the solution had you been on the project team for this integration? How might your suggestions change if the organization had been in a different industry?
Defend and support your opinion and remember to properly cite your sources according to APA guidelines.