The COTS effect has been almost as big a revolution as that signaled by the phrase uttered by Alexander Graham Bell, “What hath God wrought?” COTS is a three letter acronym that stands for “Commercial, Off The Shelf,” and the COTS revolution has changed commercial computing, created personal computing, impacted telecommunications, and made huge changes in the industrial environment. Most of these changes have been incredibly beneficial. Some have made technologies practical and affordable for applications that were unthinkable thirty years ago. Some have been problematic and some have caused significant FUD. (FUD is another three letter acronym, standing for Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt.)