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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/29/2016 3:09:13 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Must also play well with hardware...
Open source is also hitting up against hardware now. Facebook is in this game with its efforts to open source networking hardware, and telcos will probably need to get into this game -- or be captured by proprietary hardware. Microsoft's data centers are getting custom hardware with FPGA chips... and more data centers are going to need these kind of adaptable hardware tools. Good luck, telcos! Change is accelerating even faster than you thought... 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/project/project-catapult/

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DHagar
DHagar
9/29/2016 5:12:35 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
 @mhhf1ve, good point about including the hardware consideration;that is another example as to why it has to transform into a total ecosystem.  If all we do is bring the same pieces together and put them in a box with a new name, we will not succeed.  It requires not only inclusion but then re-design to best utilize the new ecosystem and deliver the greatest value.

After design, gaining the engagement of all the players - through collaboration - is the net biggest hurdle.  But those who cross that bridge have great opportunities.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:14:52 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
After design, gaining the engagement of all the players - through collaboration - is the net biggest hurdle.  But those who cross that bridge have great opportunities.

@DHagar: Great points.

For excat same reason User Experience (UX) is gaining lot if importance. IT is totally into getting to know user' s need and develop something they want and like as opposed what IT can develop.

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DHagar
DHagar
10/3/2016 4:56:27 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@ms.akkineni, important focus.  The UX will differentiate the winners vs. the losers.  If you can't make the system work for Users, you will limit results, if not threaten the success of the project.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/3/2016 11:02:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Yep, I can foresee that trend.

UX is becoming a key game changer when it comes to winning vs loosing. It is good to see increasing number of dedicated UX teams enterprise wide lately. 

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elizabethv
elizabethv
10/4/2016 4:52:21 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@ms.akkineni - It's no surprise that UX is helping telco companies, people want control and UX gives them just that. 

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DHagar
DHagar
10/4/2016 1:36:41 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@elizabethv, good point on control.  It moves it beyond user acceptance.  If you truly want buy-in you need to give them control.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/4/2016 8:03:43 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@DHagar, @elizabethv:

Totally in alignment with you both. UX is really taking user engagement with IT to the next level. Thorogh that engagement business users feel like they are heard and hence take the control. That in turn would be better for IT because with control they become and act more accountable.

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DHagar
DHagar
10/4/2016 8:23:54 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@ms.akkineni, very true about the advantages for IT.  Actually no one can control all the dynamics anyway, so why not engage all the players to use the technology in ways that benefit them and contribute to the overall organization's goals and priorities - that is a much better structure than trying to control everyone.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/4/2016 9:47:58 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@DHagar:

Can't agree more. Bringing all players to the table is really a key aspect. There should always be the team spirit between business and IT which should drive any intiative till the delivery. Often times we get caught up somewhere along the way and loose that spirit to less important things and progress takes a back seat at times.

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DHagar
DHagar
10/4/2016 10:06:59 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@ms.akkineni, great vision.  That is the door to a true transformation!

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elizabethv
elizabethv
10/5/2016 7:19:16 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
ms.akkineni - I didn't even think about accountablity but that's a great point. And does in fact go hand in hand with control. Maybe if more people were taking accountability for their telco uses, more companies would feel "empowered" to give over more control? It could be a tit-for-tat type situation. 

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/10/2016 4:56:47 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Good to see that we are inline.

No second thoughts about empowerment feeling rather than 'controlled' feeling. When a user gets to pick and choose that 'accuontability' is a given thing and there starts their journey of engagement till the point of delivery. Having that business engagement is very critical.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 6:59:04 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I agree! I think when the customers feel more involved in a product or a companies decision it's just better for everyone.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/31/2016 8:06:48 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Yes, that involvement makes them more accountable. Hence they genuienly start getting involved and make a difference. That would be a clear win - win situation.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
10/31/2016 9:44:02 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Exactly! And they'll definitley be more willing to buy a product or to subscribe to some membership.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
11/27/2016 11:11:02 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr5288:

Good point.

Once there is involvement, there will an opportunity to gain better insight. That in turn will help them gain perspective of how any new product will add value to their business.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
11/29/2016 11:18:40 PM
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Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
And if a customer is feeling heard and listened to they will be more willing to contribute to a new product!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
11/30/2016 10:49:43 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Absolutely, no doubts about it. That may increase customer involvement to a surprising extent.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
11/30/2016 6:22:20 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Yes, exactly! And hey, even if it doesn't work it's still totally worth listening.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
11/30/2016 6:58:07 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Ofcourse true. Even if the current experience doesn't yield in positive results, the whole engagement and experience will surely end up as a positive trustworthy foundation for any upcoming future intiatives.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
11/30/2016 7:15:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Yeah and in the long run it's all about gaining that consumers trust and letting them know as a company that you care!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
1/30/2017 9:23:34 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr5288:

TRUST is the most imporatant aspects of any business. Gaining trust from customer is not at all an easy thing. That needs a lot of work and good work to make your customers feel that they can trust and depend. Once you gain that, you have a customer forever. Ofcourse you can't just take it easy from there on as it is even more challenging to keep that trust.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
1/31/2017 3:05:39 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Yes I agree completely! Trust and good communication between the business and the consumer. And you're right, gaining their trust is one thing and very important, but keeping it is another story..

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
1/31/2017 5:10:45 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr5288:

That is the bitter sweet truth. Appears to be very simple but in reality very hard to earn...

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dlr5288
dlr5288
1/31/2017 7:54:38 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I think a lot of it has to do with keeping in contact. I don't mean calling them every day, but maybe once in a while sending them an email or a letter asking the consumer on how a certain product or service can improve for them.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
2/28/2017 6:37:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr5288:

Lately i am observing a new trend at a different level. That checkpoint email works just fine. But there is a big trend to socialize with key customers off work and that's where lot of progress is being made these days.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
2/28/2017 8:23:47 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
That's very interesting and I can see how that would help immensely. Talking to the consumers and getting to know that at a bit of a more personal level can definitely help!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
3/26/2017 11:03:12 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr528:

That approach is surely yielding good results and hence many companies are adapting such approach.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
3/30/2017 12:55:56 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I can see why it's working so well too! It's quick and easy and the consumers don't have to reply to an email if everything is going fine.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
4/26/2017 3:09:34 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr:

Absolutely, sometimes getting off from that formal mode of communication helps great deal.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
4/29/2017 1:54:29 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Exactly! And it's also letting the customer getting to know the companies employee or manager on a personal level.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
5/16/2017 8:26:15 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr:

Absolutely. That personal connection helps to smoothen things at work. You tend to develop a good connection and the dynamics change in good ways. But I would say that one has to be very careful to not overuse that for wrong reasons. That may totally back fire. One should stick to the boundaries.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
5/30/2017 6:23:11 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I 100% agree! The way I look at it is a "work" relationship. When you go to work you don't necessarily have to have a great relationship with your boss and/or co-workers, but it definitely helps!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
6/28/2017 10:44:46 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@dlr:

Ofcourse we don't need to have personal relationships at work. But having some connection, personability will help enhance and adds ease to the ongoing professional connection. There is a line for every thing and maintaining that boundary would help keeping things under control.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
6/29/2017 3:13:08 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
And it'll only help everyone in the long run! Maybe they can help you move ahead or have some kind of new deal that you'd be interested in.

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dlr5288
dlr5288
12/31/2016 3:56:13 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Also I liked what you said about foundation because that really is a crucial part. Without a solid foundation things would fall apart.

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DHagar
DHagar
10/4/2016 1:34:28 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@ms.akkineni, and I think that trend will continue.  It opens the opportunity to another entire level and expands the use and value of the technology; it is not a zero-sum game.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/4/2016 8:04:44 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@DHagar:

Absolutely. Certainly more to come in coming days.........

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 7:21:24 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
A friend has been suffering through a learning curve for some open-source based SAS. He said part of the challenge is that there are so many more "flavors" of linux out there that need to be accounted for; you don't encounter that issues with Microsoft-based projects.

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/29/2016 9:58:19 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
The "flavors" of open source projects is a real issue for open source. I think Google made a brilliant decision to tie Android to its proprietary services and cut off all the forks at the knees. Sure, there's Amazon Fire OS and OxygenOS (and CyanogenOS)... but there could be a WHOLE LOT MORE forks if Google hadn't exercised some control over it. 

Not sure how other open source projects can follow suit because they don't have the same clout as Google does with Android.. but.. 

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faryl
faryl
9/29/2016 10:36:34 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
It reminds me of doing web development and needing to take all the different browsers into account when designing & testing. It must make things incredibly difficult to troubleshoot.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:05:14 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@faryl:

I can never forget my early stage of the career during dot com times where we use to do absolutely what you explained - test in all possible browsers and deal with various things like cookies, server andsession related troubleshooting which use to take forever.

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faryl
faryl
9/30/2016 10:14:49 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I did the same :) And we had weekly roll-outs so we had to do the same test suites over and over. Not fun!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:16:50 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Good to know that. It wasn't fun then but feels good thinking about we did all that back then.

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faryl
faryl
10/31/2016 3:02:32 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I like that way of looking at it!

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
10/31/2016 8:04:51 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Appreciate that you can se the other side as well.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:07:47 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Not sure how other open source projects can follow suit because they don't have the same clout as Google does with Android.. but.. 


This is so true. But I can't stop thinking, they will be coming up with something before we even realize.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:10:46 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
@faryl:

In total agreement with you. Coming from Microsoft background, I must say that Microsoft based projects are very easy to adapt and learning curve is pretty minimal. 

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Michelle
Michelle
9/29/2016 10:02:41 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I had no idea this was going on! Thanks for sharing the link. You're right about the rate of acceleration -- telcos need to get moving to keep up

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mhhf1ve
mhhf1ve
9/29/2016 11:29:26 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
Michelle, Yup, Microsoft isn't the only one working on adaptable hardware for datacenters, either. FPGA chips could be big for "big computers" -- because they already are. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.wired.com/2016/09/microsoft-bets-future-chip-reprogram-fly/amp/

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dlr5288
dlr5288
9/30/2016 11:56:18 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Must also play well with hardware...
I totally agree. Telcos need to keep moving in the right direction if they want to keep up. Being able to grow in a fast pace world is crucial.

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/30/2016 7:18:27 AM
User Rank
Platinum
Things people love, things people hate ...
There's a common saying that you get divorced from someone partly for the reasons you married them, and this seems to be how the romance is ending for open source right now. The things developers love about it -- lack of central accountability and everybody gets some resources to play with -- are exactly the things that drive business people to distraction.

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ms.akkineni
ms.akkineni
9/30/2016 10:02:24 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Things people love, things people hate ...
@JohnBarnes:

I like your analogy...so apt in terms of how they relate.

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Michelle
Michelle
9/30/2016 10:23:30 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Things people love, things people hate ...
@John I haven't heard that about divorce and open source. Do you think there's a way to make all parties mostly happy with things?

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JohnBarnes
JohnBarnes
9/30/2016 11:31:09 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Things people love, things people hate ...
Michelle,

Sure. Either business gives up being business-like or developers stop acting like developers.

The thing that makes open source attractive to the development community is that they know that free and open collaboration and sharing makes tech work go fast, which means they can meet diverse business needs quickly and well. So from a business standpoint it makes a great deal of sense to give the developers what they almost all want (a few cranky hermits excepted).

But that undermines property, territoriality, zero-sum competition, and all the values business is built on.  Many years ago when microcomputers, aka desktop machines, were first coming into widespread use in business, my consulting group sent a team of us to look at a large company that had allowed everyone to just bring devices from home; the place was about 1/3 each legacy CPM, command line DOS, and early Mac. A couple employees had cobbled up translator programs so you could move data between some of the machines on floppies (both 5 1/4 and 3 1/2) but it would lose all formatting going from one to the other. There were dozens of programs and applications all over the place doing all sorts of things, and no central data repository at all.  But they were moving a lot of product (it was a consumer product reseller), growing like crazy, and doing all right.

Our report suggested creating an IT department and tasking it with slowly evolving toward a single system (I think Perfect Software, which at the time had CPM and DOS versions and had announced a Mac version that never happened). The employees were mostly good with it.

A VP who had probably been in that industry since the 1940s tossed our report and ordered a few hundred IBM PCs, and told everyone to be moved over to them in three months. He did not specify software, probably because he didn't quite know what it was. (His rationale was that he'd heard of IBM for years but not all these other companies) You may imagine how well that worked. BUT ... that's the culture that business people are still evolving away from: the senior guy makes a decision, everyone carries it out, and the whole firm rises or falls on the quality of those senior decisions.

"Don't think above your pay grade."

"Orders are orders."

"A bad decision executed immediately is better than a good decision too long delayed."

"The boss is not always right but he is always the boss."

"Nobody was ever fired for buying IBM"

Today's managers are a much better lot than that -- but that's the world they grew up in. I don't think they ever fully escape the nagging feeling that they should be "leading", i.e. issuing arbitrary commands that miraculously turn out right, rather than "managing", i.e. coping and facilitating while their team finds the best way by blundering ahead, correcting, and reblundering. And open systems crank up all their anxieties about not leading, because open systems can't be led and be open at the same time.

So it's kind of a failed romance. They loved the idea of more and better software faster and happier developers. But it means coping with a world where they don't get to do all that leading they were constantly told to do as young, junior managers. Kind of Barefoot in the Park or Dharma and Greg -- they knew it would be good for them, they knew they needed to loosen up and enjoy, but dammit, couldn't somebody do the dishes, or remember to iron the shirt, or just act responsible and obedient?

And, frankly, developers thought there would be money plus time and space to play, but it's turning out it's the same old deal where those are in conflict; it was great to be appreciated but how come the appreciation stopped as soon as the fun really started?

And that's my riff for the moment on the deteriorating romance that is open systems. I still think open systems will win out -- it's too effective not to -- but it will be a struggle, not a quick skip down the road to Emerald City.

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DHagar
DHagar
10/3/2016 4:53:05 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Re: Things people love, things people hate ...
@JohnBarnes, excellent assessment of the current environment and I share your view that open source will ultimately find its way - through performance. 

I further agree that IT decision makers are better than the past, but I still think there is a barrier in that there are limits to the capabilities of some to "architect" the solution they need, vs. purchase the latest "toys"; as you well point out.  Unless we further develop the skills of IT to design the solutions that truly fit their needs, we will buy the latest toys. 

Maybe those who get stuck with the toys that don't work will increasingly become obsolete - passed over by those who can deliver results.

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clrmoney
clrmoney
9/30/2016 12:14:16 PM
User Rank
Platinum
Open Source
Open Source may have some challenges and a lot to offer so lets see how it turns out.

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dchampagne70
dchampagne70
12/31/2016 4:09:10 PM
User Rank
Silver
Must play well with hardware!
This would be great because if the customers feel like they are being acknowledged they will be more interested in trying something new to them.  Once you get people interested then they will be more inclined to give better insight into new products.  Some companies need the customers input to thrive with better services.

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