# Ep. 14 - Owning Your Data

- Show: [Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast)
- Published: 2024-02-15
- Length: 47m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data
- Listen: http://opulo.io

## Summary

Stephen Hawes and Lucian Parr of Opulo discuss the trade-offs between data ownership and convenience, detailing their strategy of using proprietary tools like Gusto and Shopify for non-core functions while maintaining open-source control over design data via GitHub and MkDocs. They highlight the risks of relying on walled gardens like Discord for community management and Google for productivity, noting the difficulty of migrating away from these platforms if they fail. The hosts also explore the potential of self-hosting open-source alternatives like Nextcloud and Mattermost, emphasizing the need for robust local backups and export capabilities to ensure long-term data sovereignty.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=0) Introduction: Owning Data vs. Convenience
- [2:39](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=159) FLOSS vs. Proprietary Tools and Ecosystem Lock-in
- [7:28](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=448) Outsourcing HR and E-commerce with Gusto and Shopify
- [15:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=948) The Google Ecosystem and Local Backups
- [21:33](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=1293) Open Source Design Docs and GitHub Pages
- [28:45](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=1725) Manufacturing QC Data and Local Hosting
- [33:02](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=1982) The Discord Problem and Community Ownership
- [40:10](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data#t=2410) Future Plans: Mattermost and Data Sovereignty

## Topics

- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)
- [Sourcing & supply chain](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/sourcing-and-supply-chain)
- [Careers & education](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/engineering-careers-and-education)
- [Open-source hardware](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/open-source-hardware)
- [Security & privacy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/security-and-privacy)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Opulo (company)
- Gusto (tool)
- Shopify (tool)
- Google (company)
- GitHub (tool)
- MkDocs (tool)
- Dzuki (tool)
- Nextcloud (tool)
- Discord (tool)
- Mattermost (tool)
- Obsidian (tool)
- Aluminum P&P (product)
- Photon (product)
- Feeder (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Science, Not Silence](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2017-01-28-science-not-silence) (The Amp Hour)
- [Self-Protecting Data | How to Bring Back U.S. Manufacturing | Galvanized](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/ee-times-current/2020-04-24-self-protecting-data-how-to-bring-back-u-s-manufacturing-galvanized) (EE Times Current)
- [535: The You in the Machine](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2026-10-01-535-the-you-in-the-machine) (Embedded.fm)
- [All we have to fear is FUD itself](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/oxide-and-friends/2024-04-25-all-we-have-to-fear-is-fud-itself) (Oxide and Friends)
- [The Delegation Era: AI as an Operator, Not a Tool](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/built-2-scale/2026-02-04-the-delegation-era-ai-as-an-operator-not-a-tool) (Built 2 Scale)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/open-hardware-manufacturing-podcast/2024-02-15-ep-14-owning-your-data. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Open Hardware Manufacturing Podcast.