When you’re shopping around for a new piece of software to power the core of your business, you can’t afford to make the wrong decision. It’s one thing to compare simple task management or scheduling softwares, but it’s an entirely different kettle of fish when you’re trying to select a software solution that has the potential to digitally transform your company, making it drastically more efficient and profitable.

There are so many options out there, all promising to deliver something amazing. Each of them specializes in a specific benefit, with a bunch of fancy-sounding supporting features, but your business needs are probably quite nuanced. So, how do you choose, without risking making the wrong choice?

The answer lies in analyzing your organization’s unique situation, and then putting a piece of software to the test, to ensure that it is definitively the right solution for you, through something we call the Proof of Concept. A Proof of Concept (PoC) is an immersive, comprehensive test period that will give you unshakable confidence that you’re making the right choice for the long haul. Without a PoC, you simply can’t have that confidence, and you could end up making a very costly mistake by opting for a piece of software that ultimately won’t work for you - only to find yourself back at ground zero again in a few months’ time.

Aïdi offers all new customers a three-month Proof of Concept period, because we feel it would be a disservice to your business to do it any other way. We realize that not everyone may be familiar with the idea of the PoC, though, so to give you a sense of why they’re so important, we’ve put together the list below.

The five big advantages of a PoC:

• A PoC mitigates the possibility of choosing the wrong software for your organization. At the end of the day, you want to guarantee that you’re choosing the absolute best software solution for your company’s unique needs, taking price and functionality into consideration. It’s far more costly to your company to sign a multi-year contract for the wrong software than it is to pay for a couple of Proof of Concepts.

• By running a PoC, you have the opportunity to evaluate the supplier before starting a long and hopefully profitable relationship. For example, you’ll be able to observe the supplier’s reaction when they’re faced with challenges or special requests. Your software supplier is a business partner who has much more than software to offer you. They should be familiar with the best practices in your industry, know what works and what doesn’t in terms of a specific type of implementation, be up to speed on industry trends in terms of technological innovations, and have a network that is complementary to yours. In short, you should feel good about listening to and trusting your supplier. Your supplier should be as invested in your success as you are. They should be your frontline ally. So, take the time to get to know them, and determine if they’re the best partner for you.

• A PoC will give you the chance to test your employees’ resistance to change, and to prepare an action plan for the real implementation and integration that will occur after the PoC is over (if you decide to move forward with that particular piece of software). It will give your entire team the opportunity to get comfortable with the new software, and to feel like they are a part of the process of evaluating it, which is great for company morale in times of transition.

• The PoC is like a productive two-way discussion. We pass on knowledge about the software to you, while you pass on to us the knowledge about your organization and the way it operates its project. By being transparent about the potential issues and the expectations, we adapt the software and the implementation plan, and target opportunities for improvement in the short, medium, and long terms.

• A PoC definitively answers the question, “will this software REALLY work for us?”, by giving you a solid understanding of the software’s capabilities and limitations. You’ll finish your PoC with a complete list of pros and cons that you can submit to your management team to back up your analysis.

We encourage our customers to push the Aïdi software to the max during their PoC. That’s why, before you sign up for yours, we recommend that you take some time to pinpoint the major problems that you want to address by acquiring a new piece of software. Compile a list of must-haves, as well as a list of nice-to-haves, and keep the lists on hand as you begin to put Aïdi to work for you during your PoC.

In our next post, we’ll explain exactly how a Proof of Concept works, and what you can expect to experience during yours.