COTS, or commercial off-the-shelf, solutions can seem very appealing in the short term. If you find a COTS solution that matches your needs then the temptation to plump for it is a fair one. They’re ready to rock out of the box, they require minimal updates and adjustments, and, in the short term, they can get to fixing whatever issues you might have at that time. Finally, you’ll probably pick one which matches your price point at the time. That’s the essence of affordability, right? When taking the long view, the drawbacks become clear. While they’re a one time buy and you made the right financial choice for the moment, restrictions in their application could end up costing you in the future. If a COTS solution helps you grow but doesn’t scale with you, it quickly becomes a drag rather than a benefit. Trying to fit your global aspirations into a software solution designed for a single location business isn’t going to work. At worst, it’ll create an unmanageable level of technical debt. A SaaS solution with a business focused, scalable pricing model should sit at whatever price fits your current scope. At Atlas, we’ve chosen to price our products by usage rather than arbitrary metrics like seats taken or hours used. That way, the price of using Atlas scales with your use of it, matching your growth at every step. Affordability The affordability of SaaS SHOP FLOOR CONNECTIVITY ACROSS YOUR SUPPLY CHAIN