Proof Before You Buy

There are still many telcos who buy revenue assurance software without proving that the software can be made to work (and deliver some value) first. No matter how rigorous a competitive tender process is, there is no substitute for a proof of concept. Any reliable vendor will be happy to show that their product really can be made to work for the potential customer. Although the software will be implemented for only a limited scenario and for a limited period of time, there is no better way to confirm the effectiveness of the revenue assurance product. It also shows that the vendor’s staff have the necessary technical and management skills to realize success. Best of all, it gives the customer an insight into what the eventual financial benefits will be. But a proof of concept is not just of benefit to the customer. A proof of concept also helps the vendor. It gives the vendor a heads-up on how easy it will be to work with the customer’s staff and to integrate systems in practice. Telco staff who are unhelpful, or who have limited knowledge, will probably lead to a more extended deployment project, pushing the vendor’s costs up. Good vendors have no reason to resist delivering a proof of concept prior to signing a deal; only poor vendors will want to rush to the sale and avoid a proof of concept. My old mate Guy Howie of BIAAS has been working double-time recently, backing up my thesis that good vendors will want to validate their product through a proof of concept. BIAAS has completed twelve – a round dozen – proofs of concept in recent weeks. At that rate, it cannot be long before the rest of us have nothing left to prove… ;)