Letter from a Manager: How to Convince Me Open Source Firmware is a Good Idea

I don't have to go through them — you've heard all the reasons why your company can't adopt open source firmware technology. Sure, you and I know that they aren't great reasons, but how do you provide a more compelling argument for open source firmware?

As the Director of Engineering for a large IoT consultancy, I routinely bridge the gap between business stakeholders and engineering. I've spent a lot of time thinking deeply about why open source is the best business choice, and how to communicate these reasons to business stakeholders both internally, and within many of our largest clients.

We have to face it, the fate of the open source firmware community depends on buy-in from stakeholders in an industry that differs drastically from the college dropout CS student-turned-CEO world of web development. We need to present strong, cohesive, business arguments in order to bring our open source vision to life. I'll share what's made me successful in this domain, with the hope that others can take it and convince more companies to adopt open source firmware.