OSS Transformation is all about managing change – organisationally, functionally and operationally during in-flight projects. This is the most commonly overlooked factor when planning OSS projects
“It is unrealistic that any organisation, regardless of size, can have all the expertise they require in constant employ. Sometimes you need expertise or advice that is a little bit niche, or maybe you only need it for a short amount of time. It is just that you don’t want people like me running your […]
“First, explore how to doubt everything you think you know, and remember that all your ideas, even the most successful, are hypotheses within you – and not set in stone. Challenge the boxes that determine how you perceive the world, and think creatively about how you’re defining the specific problems you’re hoping to solve.” Luc […]
“As you work on your project (your presentation, your plan, your speech, your recipe, your…) imagine that it’s the sort of thing that could be reviewed on Amazon. Now, write (actually write down) two different reviews: First, a 5 star review, a review by someone who gets it, who is moved, who is eager to […]
“The day before yesterday, for the first time this attempt for us, we have conducted a “throw away meeting”.” Susumu Fujita (quote has been Google-translated from the original Japanese blog into English) [Another translation could be – “The day before yesterday, we held our first “throw away meeting.” This meeting was proposed in a recent […]
This is the sixth in the Complete OSS re-write series of posts and relates to We don’t have enough skilled people. This series is designed to pose ideas on how the OSS industry could take a Control-Alt-Delete approach to all aspects of delivering operational support, which coincides with the inflection point underway in our industry […]
This is the fourth in the Complete OSS re-write series of posts and relates to Our requirements keep changing. This series is designed to pose ideas on how the OSS industry could take a Control-Alt-Delete approach to all aspects of delivering operational support, which coincides with the inflection point underway in our industry via technologies such as […]
“The best edit is often a complete re-write. And maybe it’s time to start writing lots of things from scratch.” Peter Thiel (actually a notes essay from Peter Thiel’s CS183: Startup – Class 13 lecture). As the URL states, I’m passionate about OSS. But as passionate as I am for current-day OSS, I’m even more […]
“Ericsson has added the new Wi-Fi calling for multi-device functionality to the existing Ericsson Wi-Fi calling solution. The Ericsson offering comprises product support in Evolved Packet Core (EPC), IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), User Data Management (UDM) and OSS/BSS, as well as system integration services. The functionality is verified and tested end-to-end towards device brands that […]
“Analyst predicts emergence of more shared networks, sees operators separating infrastructure from retail businesses. Major telecoms operators will in future make the decision to separate their network operations from the retail side of the business.” Mary Lennighan quoting John Strand here. Not exactly ground-breaking news, but certainly an interesting concept nonetheless. As noted here almost […]
“Essentially, RFPs [Request for Proposal] by their very nature are already flawed. You have described the situation you are in today and you are trying to fit the new technology to that situation. Assuming you are trying to transform your business, this is a dead end before you even start.” Paul Vedam in his article […]
“The engineering bias blinds people to this simple fact. The conventional thinking is that great products sell themselves; if you have great product, it will inevitably reach consumers. But nothing is further from the truth.” Peter Thiel (actually a notes essay from Peter Thiel’s CS183: Startup – Class 9 lecture). Distribution is one of an […]
“Ask your friends what business Google is in and the answer you’ll most likely get is “search.” And they would be wrong. Google is, first and foremost, an advertising company. A full 97 percent of its revenue comes from advertising on its various properties, including YouTube, plus partner sites through its AdSense product. Sure, Google […]
Another set of quotes from Peter Thiel below (actually a notes essay from Peter Thiel’s CS183: Startup – Class 4 lecture): “For a company to own its market, it must have some combination of brand, scale cost advantages, network effects, or proprietary technology“ “Brand is a tricky concept for investors to understand and identify in […]
“Show me your bookcase, the ideas that you’ve collected one by one over the years, the changes you’ve made in the way you see the world. Not your browser history, but the books you were willing to buy and hold and read and store and share. Every bookshelf tells a story. You can’t build one […]
“One of the messages at the keynote included the fact that successful busineses now have a ratio of 4:1 in the marketing and sales. This means that to maximize company growth and sales, successful companies engage about four marketing specialists to one sales person. The traditional role of the Business Development Manager or Sales Manager is […]
“Many drops make a bucket, many buckets make a pond, many ponds make a lake, and many lakes make an ocean.” Percy Ross. One of the big OSS challenges for vendors and customers alike is version management. Let’s say Customer X installs version 1.5.3 of Vendor Y’s exciting new resource management software. This software is […]
“Changing IBM is like trying to change Sweden, and it would require diplomatic and bureaucratic work.” Edward Tufte. Interesting analogy from Edward Tufte. Give or take, IBM consists of around 400,000 employees globally (FWIW. Sweden has a population of around 9.5 million people). That’s a lot of people to persuade towards a future mode of […]
“All the scientist creates in a fact is the language in which he enunciates it. If he predicts a fact, he will employ this language, and for all those who can speak and understand it, his prediction is free from ambiguity..” Henri Poincaré. As an OSS consultant, I succeed or fail partly on my ability […]
“The challenge is that complexity is beguiling. Clever tricks and hacks can add to a company’s story and the benefit vs complexity trade off for each one can be well worth it. The problem comes over time when new tricks are added to the old ones to keep the story fresh. The complexity builds up […]
“If it’s small and reversible then it’s an experiment. If not, it’s a commitment.” Author unknown but revered. With our traditional, monolithic OSS there don’t tend to be many changes that are small and reversible unless you are controlling the code and its development. We always seem to do things on a grand scale! We […]
