Prioritized selecting COTS vendor in cots-based software development process

Presently the use of commercial-off-the-shelf (CO TS) products for a system development is increasing. COTS usage is beneficial in reduction of software development cost and shortens time-to-market. However, the supply chain of COTS by the vendor in software development activities also raises risks for the integrator such as COTS vendor that does not sufficiently satisfy the integrator's requirements e.g., document on the product is not available, slippage in schedule, vaporware, modifications made by the vendor can alter the compatibility of one COTS with other, non assured long time support in the supplied COTS etc. As CO TS-based software development has a dependence on vendor thus the sound evaluation that helps to decide which vendor is suitable and reliable in supply chain in a specific context is necessary. This paper presents the evaluated COTS vendor marketplace and discusses the vendor related issues in the scenario and proposes the COTS vendor selection method.