August Sales Engineering Braintrust

Trusted Advisors, we’re getting closer to the biggest event of the year: Special Forces Summit 2026! And there’s plenty to explore before you arrive in Dallas. With 60+ breakout sessions now live, you can start building your schedule and prepare for the summit in advance. But that’s not all. Catch up on the latest Q2 New Vendor webinar recording, get to know the newest providers in our portfolio, explore upcoming training opportunities, and more.

Dive into what’s covered:

• Sales Engineering Announcements

• Upcoming Elevate Trainings
  

• New Vendors
  

• Trusted Advisor Testimonials

• Engineering Spotlight

Sales Engineering Announcements

AVANT Q2 New Vendor Webinar Recording: Missed the Q2 New Vendor webinar featuring Broadvoice, Front, LeapXpert, Mobile Mentor, and Weave? The recording is now available! Get introduced to the newest additions to our provider portfolio, learn about their solutions and key differentiators, and discover where they can help address specific customer needs. Walk away with new insights into innovative technologies and opportunities to expand your expertise and strengthen your client conversations. Log in to Pathfinder, head to AVANT Academy, and watch the full recording today!

SFS26 Breakout Sessions: 60+ breakout sessions are now live! Dive into future-focused training on the technologies reshaping the channel, sharpen your sales approach, and explore real-world scenarios and best practices from AVANT experts and leading solution providers. Gain practical insights and strategies to turn customer challenges into new opportunities while strengthening your indispensability. Explore the full session lineup and start planning your SFS26 experience today.

Upcoming Elevate Trainings

Join AVANT for an exclusive training experience facilitated by our Sales Engineers at our upcoming Elevates!  

• Typer Thompson and John Paullin will guide the Detroit Elevate on August 20, exploring the latest UC/CX/AI opportunities and trends.  
• Get trained in cloud and security solutions on September 10 at the Boston Elevate with Landon Clark. 
• Join Tyler Thompson and Andrew Pryfogle on September 15 at the New Jersey Elevate to dive into CX/AI solutions.
• Gain expert insights from Tyler Thompson and Andrew Pryfogle into CX/AI solutions at Kansas City Elevate on September 23.

New Vendors

Apotech Data Centers

Solution Type: Colocation

Geographic Coverage: United States

What does Apotech offer? Apotech delivers enterprise-grade colocation and mission-critical infrastructure across three Tier 1 U.S. markets: Atlanta, Chicago, and Miami. With 22+ MW of total capacity, 0% downtime since inception, and SOC 2, HIPAA, PCI, and Tier III certifications, Apotech provides the space, power, and expertise that enterprises rely on 24/7. 

Key Differentiators: 

• 24/7/365 staffed NOC, on-site engineering, and hourly mechanical rounds
• Built to meet customer standards with SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and Tier III Design, so the compliance frameworks are already in place
• Flexible capacity with build-to-suit deployments, on-demand power expansion, and custom configurations that scale with your client’s roadmap across all three Tier 1 markets

What kind of client is best fit for this provider?

The ideal customer profile spans wholesale colocation, AI and high-density workloads, and hybrid cloud environments.

 Learn more about Apotech here. 

Veracode

Solution Type: Security

Geographic Coverage: United States

What does Veracode offer? Veracode is a leading application risk management company with over 20 years of experience helping organizations find and fix vulnerabilities in the software they build and use. Trusted by more than 2,500 organizations worldwide, including many of the Fortune 500, Veracode delivers a unified platform that secures applications across the entire software development lifecycle (SDLC), from the first line of code through production.

Key Differentiators: 

• Broadest coverage across the SDLC
• 20+ years of scan data and AI-powered remediation
• Binary scanning without source code
• Developer-first integration
• Compliance and policy enforcement built in

What kind of client is best fit for this provider?

• Mid-market to enterprise, 350+ employees and $50M+ revenue, particularly in regulated industries
• Organizations with internal software development teams building web, mobile, or API-based applications
• Companies with regulatory or compliance obligations touching software security (PCI, HIPAA, FedRAMP, SOC 2, DORA)
• Enterprises undergoing digital transformation or modernization projects where new application risk is being introduced
• Organizations that have adopted AI coding tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor, etc.) and need visibility into AI-generated code risk
• Companies using significant amounts of open-source software who lack visibility into supply chain risk
• High-growth companies scaling engineering teams rapidly, where development velocity is outpacing security program maturity
• Organizations that have recently undergone M&A activity and need to assess security risk in inherited or acquired codebases

 Learn more about Veracode here. 

Explore our full vendor portfolio including their offerings and key differentiators by logging into Pathfinder today!

Trusted Advisor Testimonials

What are your peers saying about their experience working with AVANT Sales Engineers? 

“I like how thorough AVANT engineering is and how helpful they are, especially when trying to sell a technology that you have never sold.” – Jaedon Destine, Overlay Advisors

“The AVANT SEs are extremely important for our success and we cannot be more grateful for their partnership.” – Kelly Jedrychowski, Dialogue Connect

Engineering Spotlight

This month, we’re spotlighting Amanda Bean, Senior Sales Engineer specializing in  UCaaS, CCaaS, and CX AI.

With over 15 years in the industry, Amanda has held leadership roles in Contact Center, Engineering, and IT. Experience in retail (250 agents) and healthcare (9000!) help her understand the entire CCaaS process: deploying media channels, programming, support, development, and process automation.

Here’s a bit more about Amanda, in her own words! 

Tell us about something you do for AVANT that Trusted Advisors may not know.  

One thing Trusted Advisors may not always see is how much work happens behind the scenes before a recommendation is made. As a Sales Engineer, I spend a lot of time researching providers, understanding the technical nuances of different use cases, documenting information in our knowledge base, and translating business challenges into practical solutions. Whether it’s answering a quick question, diving deeper into a specific need, or helping validate proposed options, each engagement requires research, analysis, and a strong understanding of the supplier landscape. 

My goal is to give our TAs confidence that the recommendations they bring to their customers are accurate, well-vetted, and aligned with their business objectives. A quick question doesn’t always have a quick answer, but it deserves a thoughtful one.

Where are you located?

Virginia Beach, United States

What invention do you wish existed to make your life easier?

The teleporter, for sure, is the invention I wish truly existed. Sunrise along the shores of Virginia Beach with my dogs and spouse, followed by coffee with Mom in Oklahoma, lunch listening to live music with my friends in Nashville, then off to the Outer Banks to be with my sister’s family before ending the evening on Broadway in NYC, then back home to sleep in my own bed.

The stress of “the leave” would dissipate, traffic would lose its hold on us. Our pizzas could come straight out of the oven in Italy, then we could turn around and handpick an exotic fruit off the tree in South America. Customer discovery sessions would instantly become more relational because distance would no longer stand between us. True connection of people and culture could melt the borders of division and the fear of the unknown.

The teleporter wouldn’t just shrink the world, it would expand our capacity to experience it. All it would take is a single phrase: “Beam me up, Scotty.”

What do you think your younger self would be most proud of today?

Ah, the Beanie Baby, as some might say. I know I’ve made you proud so far. I’ve worked so hard to equip myself to grow and learn every day, and that is the underlying factor in how I am capable of evolving beyond what I once thought was possible.

Finding my work ethic and drive for success while striving to earn that D1 softball scholarship, both as a player and a coach; breaking through my shyness while timidly unmuting my mic in that radio DJ booth; and learning how to thrive as the only woman in a business meeting have all led me to a more successful career.

The thing that makes me the proudest is that I am someone people believe in, trust, and love. My connections with people matter most to me. I love that I broke through the fear of living my truth and found the ability to evolve beyond what I was told to believe. That authenticity of self and spiritual connection is where the magic happens in life.

Ready to level up your sales game with expert guidance? Our Engineers have your back and are available for you to bring them into your opportunities! Connect with them and get started by filling out an IQA on Pathfinder!