MBDiagMan
Final Approach
I spent the majority of my career working for HMI software product development companies in many different capacities. It was a small niche in the software industry. I was on the absolute ground floor of this industry with a front row seat. I worked for two companies who were industry leaders at the time I was there, and also worked for an also ran, that had EXCELLENT technology, but very little business.
From that experience I can tell you that when selecting such a product it is extremely common to suffer “analysis paralysis.” I have seen NUMEROUS clients go through the product selection process. Since it is typically manufacturing technology people including engineers, IT people (who had no understanding of the technology at the factory floor level,) and middle/upper management people who make these decisions, it was common to see them being unable to see the forest for the trees.
The trap that I saw many people fall into was to spend their time disecting the technology, while ignoring the financial stability of the provider, learning curve( not a big deal with these products,) connectivity and the support availability which is a dire necessity in that world and quite important with any software product.
I used Foreflight from 2011 until early last year when installing a Garmin 345 gave me Garmin Pilot three months free. Even after factoring in my extreme familiarity with FF, I still felt that it was more intuitive than GP. As far as data accuracy goes, from where I sit, that is a non starter for me. Both of them are plenty accurate for practical use. Both of these companies will most likely be around for the long term, but if not, so what? You pay on annual basis anyway. If you have to change you are not losing a software/hardware investment.
To get to my personal conclusion, I believe that GP is runner up to FF in the areas of product maturity and technical support availability. Unlike the HMI industry, connectivity is taken care of with these products. That is why I went back to FF and for now I believe is the best choice.
This is MY opinion and that’s all. I respect those who have drawn different conclusions. I hope that you guys will avoid “analysis paralysis.”
From that experience I can tell you that when selecting such a product it is extremely common to suffer “analysis paralysis.” I have seen NUMEROUS clients go through the product selection process. Since it is typically manufacturing technology people including engineers, IT people (who had no understanding of the technology at the factory floor level,) and middle/upper management people who make these decisions, it was common to see them being unable to see the forest for the trees.
The trap that I saw many people fall into was to spend their time disecting the technology, while ignoring the financial stability of the provider, learning curve( not a big deal with these products,) connectivity and the support availability which is a dire necessity in that world and quite important with any software product.
I used Foreflight from 2011 until early last year when installing a Garmin 345 gave me Garmin Pilot three months free. Even after factoring in my extreme familiarity with FF, I still felt that it was more intuitive than GP. As far as data accuracy goes, from where I sit, that is a non starter for me. Both of them are plenty accurate for practical use. Both of these companies will most likely be around for the long term, but if not, so what? You pay on annual basis anyway. If you have to change you are not losing a software/hardware investment.
To get to my personal conclusion, I believe that GP is runner up to FF in the areas of product maturity and technical support availability. Unlike the HMI industry, connectivity is taken care of with these products. That is why I went back to FF and for now I believe is the best choice.
This is MY opinion and that’s all. I respect those who have drawn different conclusions. I hope that you guys will avoid “analysis paralysis.”
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