Not so long ago, when a customer was interested in a particular technology, they would do research (references, internet, trade shows) and then invite vendors to demo and discuss their technologies. In most cases, the provider/manufacturer of the technology would connect with a local trusted partner from their partner channel for assistance. They would organize and demo the technology to help customers understand how it could help their organization.
This process provided solutions to technical issues by connecting customers with a partner who worked daily with interconnected or integrated technologies and the provider who developed the technology. These demos and discussions also helped foster trust and build relationships. However, as well as this sales tactic worked, it was clear that this process had its faults and weaknesses, which included:
- Time consumption and perplexity of meeting with multiple providers and their teams.
- Difficulty getting a feel for the most suitable solutions with so many players trying to make their solution the best fit.
- Biased providers only talking about their solution and limited perspective on true competitive performance.
- Non-public pricing that gave little insight into what customers should really pay.
