It all depends on what software you are using, or more accurately, who you bought it from. For despite the great advances in technology in the last 20 years, transferring data from system to system has regressed rather than progressed since the era of the punched card. He invited others to join him in the quest for a standard. In 1993, two other suitors emerged in Merlinco and Pulse Train Technology . Regrettably, Quantime withdrew after initial interest for reasons that are unclear.
Many producers have a tendency to view their own data formats as a standard in their own right.
Cynics point out that it is one way of ensuring loyalty to your products. Representatives from the three participating companies met regularly to work out how to represent market research survey data in a way that would work across vendor boundaries. In due course, they published the SSS standard in 1995. Those involved worked with a commendable spirit of co-operation which is rare among rivals. As Geoff Wright, Pulse Train's SSS rep.