Its been more than 20 years since then U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry issued his famous some say infamous COTS memo, which ordered the Department of Defense to buy commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology wherever and whenever possible. Back then COTS was a four-letter word among many in the government and the primes, equating with cheap products bought at retail stores. Now a little more than two decades later, the COTS industry is flourishing with many mil-spec products being offered as COTS and with strong track records of use in mission critical applications. However, the dark side of COTS obsolescence still lurks and is unlikely to change as commercial component suppliers answer to large volume consumer markets. Today COTS is still a method of procurement and to some still a marketing term. This e-cast panel of industry experts will discuss where COTS is today, how it is defined, how it fits in with a procurement world of cutbacks, non-developmental items (NDIs), and Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs).
Presented by: GE Intelligent Platforms, North Atlantic Industries, Pentek, United Electronic Industries
<p><i>Speaker(s): Rubin Dhillon (Global Marketing Director of Embedded Systems, GE Intelligent Platforms); TBD (TBD title, North Atlantic Industries); Rodger Hosking (Vice President, Pentek); TBD (TBD title, United Electronic Industries)
</p>
