[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"glossary-proof-of-concept::en":3,"gloss-cluster-proof-of-concept::en":26,"gloss-next-proof-of-concept::en":9},{"slug":4,"category":5,"name":6,"definition":7,"meta_desc":8,"faq":9,"schema_markup":9,"related":10},"proof-of-concept","saas","Proof of Concept (POC)","A proof of concept is a time-boxed evaluation in which a prospective customer runs a vendor's product against their own data and workflow to establish whether it does what they need. It is the enterprise counterpart of a self-serve trial, and it differs in that it is scoped, staffed and jointly run: the buyer commits people and access, the vendor commits configuration and support, and both agree in writing what will be tested. That written agreement is the whole discipline. A POC without defined success criteria has no ending — it drifts into an unpaid pilot, then into a habit, and eventually into a deal that closes on relationship rather than on evidence, or does not close at all. A workable structure names three things: the specific use cases in scope and, just as importantly, what is out of scope; the measurable criteria that constitute success, agreed with whoever will actually sign; and a fixed end date with a decision meeting on it. Two failure patterns recur. Scope expansion, where each demo raises a new requirement and the vendor keeps building — the cure is a written change to the criteria rather than a quiet yes. And evaluating the wrong thing: a POC that proves the product works technically while the real risk was adoption, integration effort or security approval has consumed weeks to answer a question nobody was worried about. For vendors, the cost of a POC is high enough that qualifying who signs, what budget exists and what happens on success should precede it, not follow it.","A proof of concept is a scoped, jointly-run evaluation against the buyer's own data — why written success criteria and an end date decide whether it converts.",null,[11,14,17,20,23],{"slug":12,"name":13},"design-partner","Design Partner",{"slug":15,"name":16},"free-trial","Free Trial",{"slug":18,"name":19},"onboarding","Onboarding",{"slug":21,"name":22},"security-questionnaire","Security Questionnaire",{"slug":24,"name":25},"time-to-value","Time-to-Value (TTV)",[27,31,35,38,41,44,47,51,54,57,60,63],{"slug":28,"category":5,"name":29,"updated_at":30},"activation","Activation","2026-08-24T02:46:36+00:00",{"slug":32,"category":5,"name":33,"updated_at":34},"aha-moment","Aha Moment","2026-08-24T02:46:37+00:00",{"slug":36,"category":5,"name":37,"updated_at":34},"annual-contract-value","Annual Contract Value (ACV)",{"slug":39,"category":5,"name":40,"updated_at":30},"api-first","API-First",{"slug":42,"category":5,"name":43,"updated_at":30},"arpa","Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA)",{"slug":45,"category":5,"name":46,"updated_at":30},"arr","Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)",{"slug":48,"category":5,"name":49,"updated_at":50},"auto-renewal-clause","Auto-Renewal Clause","2026-08-24T02:46:38+00:00",{"slug":52,"category":5,"name":53,"updated_at":50},"build-vs-buy","Build vs. Buy",{"slug":55,"category":5,"name":56,"updated_at":34},"burn-multiple","Burn Multiple",{"slug":58,"category":5,"name":59,"updated_at":50},"burn-rate","Burn Rate",{"slug":61,"category":5,"name":62,"updated_at":30},"cac","Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)",{"slug":64,"category":5,"name":65,"updated_at":30},"cdn","Content Delivery Network (CDN)"]