Agencies have figured out that "customized COTS” means "expensive custom software that you don't actually own,” so vendors have started calling it "configured COTS." The problem is that some commercial software is extensively configurable by customers, and it can be tough to know which is which.
Here's the test to apply: Can the software be "configured” by the customer or any vendor of their choosing? If "yes," it's legit. If "no," it's just expensive custom software that you don't own.
@mariyadelano Microsoft Word is legitimate COTS. Basically any COTS that powers an unemployment insurance program (Sagitec, Geographic Solutions, etc.) is faux COTS.
@waldoj I feel like there's also an angle about how many people you need to employ to do that. So much of that stuff is “configurable” in the sense that you can hire a specialist to keep pace with their churn but that's not the budget story they want to sell…
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