Definition
Standard solutions (also known as COTS - Commercial Off-the-Shelf) are software or systems developed to serve a broad market of customers with similar needs, without customisation to each individual customer's specific processes. Examples include ERPEnterprise Resource Planning - business system integrating finance, HR, logistics and operations. systems (SAP, Microsoft Dynamics), accounting software and general CRMCustomer Relationship Management system for managing customer relations, sales processes and support tasks. platforms. The advantage is lower initial cost, rapid implementation and ongoing updates from the vendor. The disadvantage is that the organisation must adapt its processes to the system - not the other way round. In the energy sector, pure standard solutions are rarely sufficient for ElhubNational hub for metering data and market processes in the Norwegian electricity market. integration and the electricity market's specific rules, because the industry's requirements are highly specialised and vary between countries. A hybrid approach - a standard core with industry-specific modules or integrations - is common.