The Commercial-Off-the-Shelf (COTS) product marketplace is teeming with products that offer solutions to a wide variety business requirements. How will you select right solution for your enterprise?

As organizations face "buy vs. build vs. adopt" decisions, they need a trusted partner to provide them with unbiased recommendations. Before making a COTS investment, products must be carefully evaluated for appropriateness (i.e., cost, technical, and cultural) and overall infrastructure fit. The cost and complexity associated with COTS product attainment necessitates a solid evaluation phase of appropriate products. FGM works with customers, such as the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), to identify, evaluate, and recommend COTS products that will satisfy their requirements.

In need of a data mediation tool that could integrate and simplify access to disparate, complex data sources, DISA turned to FGM. After extensive market research and customer involvement, we identified five candidate COTS products that matched their requirements. We evaluated each product through in-house analysis of demonstration-version software, interviewed product vendors to discuss the design and architecture features or issues that were relevant to DISA, performed a cost analysis, and a benefit analysis of “out of the box” features. In cooperation with DISA, we then selected the single product that met their existing requirements, could be used to support unique requirements, and was scalable for their enterprise.

Our robust, analytical evaluation process is cost-effective and efficient, and we provide a thorough and objective examination of all available solutions to meet our customers needs. Our vendor-neutral approach to COTS analysis and evaluation ensures that our customers receive the best COTS recommendation possible.

Protecting your COTS investments.

	John W. Wilmer Vice President Integrated Defense Systems jwwilmer@fgm.com Ph.: 703.885.1000 Fax: 703.885.0130

	Case Study: NCES Supporting DoD's efforts to improve information-sharing, application reuse, and enhance interoperability between organizations