Autodesk Senior Vice President tells it like it is

Autodesk Senior Vice President tells it like it is

I didn’t expect to see any comment about the policy of denying bug fixes to some customers from any Autodesk high-ups, but I was mistaken.

Here’s a quote on just this subject from Autodesk Senior Vice President1, Buzz Kross:

It’s just bad business. Why would you not want to take care of your customers? I would never do that. Come on, we all make mistakes. All software has bugs and as a developer, I have an obligation to provide fixes to all my paying customers, whether they are on subscription or not. Customers on subscription have the advantage of getting access to new stuff. That’s fine. But denying them access to bug fixes is just not right.

Buzz Kross, Senior Vice President, Autodesk1
9 April 2010


Photo: Autodesk

It’s not often I so completely agree with an Autodesk executive1, but I can find no fault in his logic. Thank you, Buzz.


1. Although Buzz is still listed as a SVP in some Autodesk online materials, he’s no longer with the company.

8 Comments

  1. Josef Wienerroither

    Bah – Steven – your really got me for a minute here. I almost thought this was an actual reply from Mr. Kross to the current issue… Until i saw that date below the quote … And all hope for some level of sanity inside this company vaporized in an instant …

  2. James Maeding

    Hey, I just realized the blog icon on front page switches to the “condensed” blog front page that I like. Before, I was clicking on the squares and that goes directly to the expanded blog post. I think you get more attention by making the blog front page be the main front page, maybe with some large buttons on the top to switch to other pages. Your blog page is great though, worthy of being front.

    1. Steve Johnson

      I have heard only good things about straight-shooter Buzz Kross. His public Facebook profile describes him thus:

      Retired Tech Exec, Amateur Anthropologist, & Burgeoning Blacksmith
      Worked at Autodesk Inc.
      Worked at GE
      Studied at North Central College
      Went to JB CONANT
      Lives in West Linn, Oregon
      From Chicago, Illinois

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