Procuring commercial-off-the-shelf software for Air Traffic Services systems in state-owned organizations: A client-centered case study in Spain

•No research is reported on the procurement of ATS systems in state-owned ANSPs.•We studied the influence of COTS Software on the procurement of the Spanish ATS system.•The lack of flexibility in public procurement affects COTS Software integration.•Dependence on the ATS system provider maintains an old natural monopoly in Spain.•The limited adaptability of COTS ATS systems may not be well embraced by the user.

This paper reports preliminary findings of a client-centered exploratory study on how Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) software influences the procurement of Air Traffic Services (ATS) systems in state-owned organizations. Our work carried out an initial qualitative study on the case of the Spanish Automated Air Traffic Control System (SACTA) in ENAIRE, the national Air Navigation Services Provider (ANSP). As a result, we present an tentative model of the case where a series of emerging ideas is identified. These ideas constitute a client-centered conceptual framework that may help state-owned organizations understand some phenomena associated to the evaluation and procurement of COTS-based ATS systems.