"Evaluations" versus "Proof of Concept" - Our Interpretation
By Steve Inman
We see the term "Proof of Concept" used regularly now, and very rarely hear "Evaluation" when prospective Customers test a product live in their own environment. While both terms imply no prior commitment to buy, we believe there is a significant difference summed up by the length of time the Customer test lasts, vendor engineering investment, and by payment of some fee to the vendor for the test.Â
In our vernacular, an evaluation is a short term (less than 30 day) trial to test the effectiveness of a product in solving a short list of items that would justify purchasing the product. Like a test drive of a car "Evals" are usually free to the prospective Customer and involve a small enough engineering investment by the vendor to be reasonably be recovered by the profit margin from a successful conversion to a sale.Â
In contrast, we view a Proof of Concept as a 30-90 day program where a small quantity of equipment may be rented (or purchased) coupled with a for-fee scope of work for professional services. The Proof of Concept is commonly tied therefore to larger, higher profile deployments, where the roll-out of the product across the enterprise is considered imminent following the successful "POC". More important than the term, words, or phrase used is the clear understanding by both parties (vendor and Customer) that there is an appropriate time and place for each definition above. As usual, clear expectations and communications are key to win-win endeavors, and embarking on an Eval or a POCs is no different.
