For IT professionals, one of the possibly least-discussed aspects of technology deployment is in the evaluation of alternative solutions as they look ahead in their planning. It is why the Proof of Concept (POC) process is so critical.

With the growth of cyber threats, the importance of POC in risk management has never been more important. However, getting POC to work for you instead of potentially creating more obstacles, in terms of the time involved, and arriving at less than optimal solutions can be tricky.

For those unfamiliar with POC, some context is in order. POC, also known as “Proof of Principle” (POP), is a realization of a certain method or idea to demonstrate its validity. When it comes to computer and networking security and encryption, POC refers to a demonstration that “in principle” a system may be protected or compromised, without the necessity of building a complete working vehicle for that purpose. As noted, in today’s increasingly risky world, POCs are extremely consequential as a means for assuring the right tools are in place to maximize enterprise security now and particularly going forward.

It is clear that developing a sound POC plan to better understand the benefits of vendor adaptation into your network is not without its pain points. In fact, based on the need for speed to provide protection IT organizations are under pressure to find, test and deploy solutions ASAP, and while they rely heavily on POCs such efforts carry with them high risks of functional failure, costs overruns, poor human resource allocation and missed deadlines.

With the value and risks associated with doing POC efficiently and effectively, you are invited to participate in a forthcoming webinar, “5 Great Ideas to Avoid Network Security POC Pitfalls,” to be held on April 30, 2013 at noon. 

Join me and VSS Monitoring’s (News - Alert) Gordon Beith, director of product management, and Leena Merciline , senior product manager, as we explore in-depth the best ways to optimize  POC cycles in validating network security-in-layers.  The five areas to be covered include:

1. Defense-in-Depth Architecture
2. Accelerate Technology Adoption
3. Reduce Operational Risk
4. Lower Cost of Operations
5. Reduce Time-to-Protection Against Cyber-Threats

VSS Monitoring, as a provider of Network Packet Broker technology, has unique insights they can share regarding the changing paradigm for enterprise security and how security and performance tools in 1G/10G/40G networks can be optimized. 

If you are under the gun and need to assure management that your organization has the knowledge and tools to evaluate network risks quickly and provide solutions to mitigate them in a timely fashion, we hope that you can join us.