It seems a little odd to say thank you in a public setting to a customer you can’t name but that’s the odd spot I find myself in.

Back in 2003 I was drafted as an emergency fill in for a colleague at an important meeting. I thought I was just doing a quick favor. In actuality the potential customer had about a hundred fairly complicated questions to discuss about Linux in the telecom environment. Answering their questions turned into an all day meeting. I was exhausted at the end of it.

After a brief pause I’ve been associated with this customer almost continually. I’ve worked closely with them on technical, business, and of course around requirements for new products. I can say confidently that this engineering team is one of the most professional that I’ve ever worked with. Even when they are under fire they work with each other and their partners with respect.

They are also incredibly competent. The nature of their applications and their customers demands the utmost accountability for failure and expertise at every level of abstraction. One technical issue literally had to be tracked down to a defect in an upgraded firmware load delivered in a new batch of hard drives. The systematic analysis skills and discipline required to kill that problem are not demonstrated widely.

I’m taking on a new set of responsibilities at MontaVista and as such I’m having to, after 5 years, back away a bit from my favorite customer. As I do so they should know that they have my respect and that I’m always a phone call or email away.

Thank you!

Brad

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 10th, 2008 at 6:51 am and is filed under Uncategorized.