Most of the companies that make it on the Network World 200 list have mastered the craft of research and development. Whereas once a researcher's job was to make discoveries and publish papers, today success is measured by commercial gains. They must create ever more commercially successful technologies - a trick akin to picking No. 1 songs before a musician records them. This market is unpredictable. Yet the fundamental needs of the network are pretty clear, such as capacity.
Researchers now work on customers' expressed business needs.
No longer are most engineers locked in the closet with you throwing raw meat in at them. Of course, you'll still have a few of those. In fact, the reverse is true. Turning ideas into products is the riskiest part of a vendor's business. Or you could be buying into products that a vendor may not support for the long haul, users say.