Topic:

Effective Running of a Proof of Concept (POC) - Vendor and Consultant Views

On this panel will be a consultant and a vendor sales person.  You'll get both sides of running a POC.

Date: July 24, 2023

Meeting starts at 7:00 PM.

Open to the public.  Zoom. Networking from 6:30PM - 7 PM. 

Your registration confirmation email contains the zoom link - Please read the email confirmation completely.

Event Description:

Have you ever been involved in a POC?   There are many ways a POC can be run effectively.  There are also many ways that lead to confusion, finger pointing and misleading POC results.  Consultants don't want to be in the middle of a battle between the vendors and your client because of errors made during a POC.

In addition, for consultants and other third parties, running a POC is a critical activity. A POC can consume many billable hours over a span of weeks or months. This creates a risk for consultants for both use of time as well as helping guide the best outcome.

The Consultant needs to work closely with each vendor to maximize the benefit to the client (end user / customer).  Consultants can find themselves in the middle of a POC issue if not careful selecting the products and running a apples to apples comparison during the POC.   Consultants that show value to the client and utilize less consulting time while running the POC may rule the day. 

Pros and Cons of each product are very relevant to the client.  Did you run just one product on your POC?  What competing products did you include in the POC?  How much time did you spend with each vendor and each product?  How transparent are you with the vendors and client?

Abstract:

The Proof Of Concept (POC) (or proof of value, evaluation, trial, etc.) is one of the most common methods for a potential customer to evaluate software. Typically, it sits at the middle of the buying process, and the outcome will determine which product is favored amongst several possible candidates.

This presentation will consider the POC in the context of the larger product evaluation process for customers and the larger sales process for vendors. By examining the goals of each party (and where they diverge), the talk aims to help both sides understand each other better, and ultimately provide more satisfying outcomes to all involved.

Speaker Bio:

Curtis Bragdon has conducted hundreds of proofs of concepts (as a vendor and as an evaluator) over his career in sales, sales engineering, consulting and engineering.

Curtis has an undergraduate degree in Computer Science and an MBA. He is currently Director of Sales for the Eastern Region & Federal for Finite State, who makes a platform to analyze and manage software security issues, focusing on safety-critical systems.

Mark Fitzgerald, CNET Treasurer, will add the consultant perspective to Curtis's presentation.