# Commercial Off-the-Shelf Software **Aliases:** COTS **Entity class:** Software acquisition category ## Definition **Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) software** is commercially available software acquired for use with limited or configurable modification rather than built entirely as a custom government system. ## Relationships - **examples in the ICE successor stack:** [[wiki/Palantir Gotham|Palantir Gotham]], [[wiki/PenLink|PenLink]], and digital-forensics products. - **deployment model may include:** [[wiki/Software as a Service|SaaS]]. - **integration route:** [[wiki/Application Programming Interface|APIs]] and web services. ## Sources / Provenance - [Federal Acquisition Regulation — Commercial products and services](https://www.acquisition.gov/far/part-12)