Our Blog

Categories

Custom vs Off-the-Shelf: The Pros & The Cons

A custom-designed product can break through a crowded marketplace, and open a business to a whole new sector of consumers. When you search for a path to achieve this, however, you’ll find many options, from standard, commercial off-the-shelf (aka, COTS) components, to custom parts, to highly-custom projects. When considering creating a custom IoT application, how do you make the decision between the multitude of options?

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) vs. Custom Products

Let’s say you work for a company developing a new product that uses a Serial interface, and you have been tasked with finding a way to integrate Ethernet connectivity. You research all the different options for exports, components that can convert connections like Serial into other interfaces, and come across a number of options.

Grid Connect is Connecting the Internet of Things

Connecting products to the Internet of Things (IoT) is essential to manufacturers looking to stay competitive within their industry. Adding IoT capabilities gives consumers more features. It also allows the manufacturer to stay connected with their customers while discovering new product use cases and applications that open them up to new revenue streams.

IP in your hand… Really!!

The world’s tiniest device server, the NET232jr, was originally nicknamed by its first customer as “IP In Your Hand”. This clever turn of phrase gave us a few chuckles, but it does point out the amazingly small size of the NET232jr. The NET232 “junior” enables serial devices with IP technology in the smallest package available in the world (as far as we know!).

Get our monthly newsletter for product and technology updates