When I was in college, studying electronic engineering, the first standard I learned about was SPICE. I never would have guessed that my career would lead me into the world of standards. I've learned a lot and share some of it in my book, "The Ten Commandments for Effective Standards". If you think standards are boring, come along for a wild ride with me. The standards arena is anything but dull.
OpenStand Principle 5: Voluntary adoption
Posted by Karen B on December 13th, 2012
“Voluntary adoption” is the last principle of the OpenStand modern paradigm for global standards. Suppliers are free to choose whichever standards they want to implement in their products. Consumers are free to choose the products they prefer. The market determines the success of the standards.
In our industry, this is a given. Market-driven standards are the way we do things. If our standards choices were taken away by national representation groups or government agencies, I suppose we wouldn’t have as many “standards wars”. But I do think it would stifle innovation and reduce our competitiveness.
Competition in the marketplace is what fuels better products and drives innovation, both of which support growing and mature economies, ultimately benefiting society. The freedom for vendors of products and services to select the best possible standards is an essential element of a global economy.
