[joezydeco]

I'm working on an IoT device for industrial use, and we're wrestling with this very problem.

The answer we're probably going to go with is that the device is 'leased' to the customer. It's part of their subscription.

This solves a ton of problems about FLOSS and support of the same. It's now a closed device, and you have no rights to the code inside. If we go out of business, you have a brick that you don't have to pay for anymore.

[Kim_Bruning]

I think it's always better for the customer to have access to the code inside. I'll actively recommend FLOSS solutions to customers even if they're not quite as good as the competition on paper right away. Simply because a large part of the cost of industrial hardware is actually supporting it for a long time. And support is SO MUCH EASIER if you have all the source code and schematics. Of course big customers get to demand this kind of arrangement (floss, escrow, or even just "give us all the paper") while small industrial operations end up paying a premium for inferior service.

[rolph]

>> The answer we're probably going to go with is that the device is 'leased' to the customer. It's part of their subscription. <<

1000% wrong answer, unless you straight up front sell a service with an installer making a site visit to deploy chattels of service.

such as satellite television, or DSL internet.

when you swap handfulls over the counter before any contractual agreements i.e. clickthrough TOS , you are selling a hardware, that means user ownership.

[joezydeco]

No, we're straight up selling with a dealer/installer in the pipeline. We're not that stupid to try and sell direct to the customer these days.

[rolph]

i find that revealing, it seems direct enduser engagement has really stung you, is there something other than people being people, or are there onerous requirements that are not worth it?