November Sales Engineering Braintrust

Dive into our newest Sales Engineering Braintrust, featuring:

• Win Wire: Check out our $8K Security Win Wire and learn how AVANT SE support helped provide clarity and direction for a TA’s customer
• Engineering Spotlight: Meet Dave Watson, focused on UCaaS and CCaaS
• Pathfinder Updates: Discover our customer-facing IoT (Internet of Things) Matrix and access the newest Security Quick Hits, via the Trusted Advisor Academy:
  • FutureProof: The Office of the CISO
  • The History of NIST and the Cyber Defense Matrix
• AVANT Updates: Find in-person training opportunities and our latest podcast episodes, focused on next-gen technology conversations that can be shared with customers

Win Wire with Dane Menke

 The Breakdown

• Technology Category: Security
• Customer Type/Industry: Manufacturing
• Size and Scope: 400 users
• MRC: $8K MRC
• Winning provider: AgileBlue
• Competitors: Splunk, LogRhythm, Rapid7

The Details

What were the drivers for the client?
The customer was considering moving their servers to cloud or refreshing their hardware on-prem. At the same time, they were evaluating new SIEM (Security Information and Event Management) and vulnerability scanning tools with plans to manage them internally. Within these considerations, they were also concerned they wouldn’t have time to manage their servers in addition to new Security tools.

How did the Trusted Advisor close the deal?
The customer was not sold on the benefit or necessity of moving to cloud. Rather than trying to force a deal, AVANT and the TA agreed that the customer’s servers should remain on-prem. Instead, they shifted the conversation to security. With help from the AVANT SE, the TA explained the challenges of securing an IT environment with the customer’s limited in-house security expertise. This knowledgeable council helped the customer quickly and confidently reach a decision and produced an opportunity where one had not previously existed.

How did AVANT support the win?
Through the conversation between Dane and the customer, the deal pivoted from IaaS to MDR. We positioned AgileBlue as a local MSSP that matched well with the customer’s existing security investments. From there, the MDR opportunity was closed within 30 days!

AVANT Security Engineers bring an advanced level of technology AND sales experience to the table, allowing them to expertly help Trusted Advisors guide their customers through their decision-making journey – and making them look like solution pros in front of their customers in the process! Now it’s time to discover the difference their support can make for your deals. Connect with the Engineering team here or fill out a solution IQA (Interactive Quick Assessment) on Pathfinder* to get started with your own opportunity!

Engineering Spotlight

This month, we’re spotlighting Dave Watson, Field Sales Engineer, focused on UCaaS and CCaaS.

Dave has over 28 years of sales and engineering expertise in the telecommunications industry. As employee 1 of a VoIP and Contact Center reseller, he was pivotal in its growth and evolution over 23 years. It was purchased by one of the largest telecommunications VARs in the United States. Following the sale, Dave spent another 3 years there as an AVANT Trusted Advisor, focusing and training on digital disruption and cloud technology.

After leading the SE initiative, he joined the AVANT Sales Engineering team in 2021. His deep experience allows him to provide unique insight and guidance to Trusted Advisors as they engage in opportunities with their customers or work on building up their own knowledge. Dave interfaces daily with solution providers, Trusted Advisors, customers, and industry thought leaders. In his role, he works hard to consistently immerse himself in the latest technologies and trends, as well as challenges businesses face in a rapidly changing and disrupted global marketplace. 

Outside of work, here’s a bit more about Dave, in his own words!

• Where are you located? Oceanside, CA
• What is an interesting fact or hobby you have? I have a lot of hobbies, including scuba diving, sailing, ballroom dancing, pickleball, and racquetball. Over the last few years, my focus has been scuba diving and pickleball. I spend a few weeks a year in Negril, Jamaica workationing with my wife as a professional PADI Divemaster. Additionally, my wife and I are both sponsored pickleball players under the Gearbox brand. If you play or want to learn, hit me up on my next visit to your market!
• What is your go-to karaoke song? I sing horribly. But, if I must karaoke, it is going to be ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ by the Soggy Bottom Boys.
• What is the best vacation you’ve ever taken? Tell us why! So many great vacations. A best though? Has to be a tie between the Alsace region of France with its storybook villages and mix of French and German cultures, and Florence, Italy. The art and architecture in Florence…seriously!

You can connect with Dave on LinkedIn here!

 Pathfinder Updates

• Explore IoT (Internet of Things) vendor options with your customers! The new IoT Matrix on Pathfinder* provides an overview of solutions spanning the elements of a successful IoT deployment, from design consultation and app development, to connectivity and sensors, to ongoing security.
• Just added – new Security Quick Hits! Curious about how NIST and CDM differ? Want to know more about incentives, perceptions and decision making in differently sized organizations? Check out our new Quick Hits from Sr. Director of Security, Stephen Semmelroth, available in the Trusted Advisor Academy in Pathfinder*
  • FutureProof: The Office of the CISO
  • The History of NIST and the Cyber Defense Matrix

 AVANT Updates

• Register now for our final 2023 Bootcamp on December 7th in Dallas, Texas. This hands-on, Security-focused training is for new and seasoned Trusted Advisors looking to level up their expertise. The event will feature AVANT Engineers and a Keynote Speaker!
• Join the next-generation technology conversation and discover great content that can also be shared with your customers as a helpful IT resource. Start with two of our newest Technology Insights podcast episodes:
  • SEC Regulations: dive into the new regulations from the SEC (Security and Exchange Commission) on cybersecurity and learn about the implications and key takeaways
  • State of the Threat Right Now: Find out what’s really going on in Security right now with experts from AVANT Analytics

*You can check out all of these tools and resources in Pathfinder 2.0, via the Homepage Navigation. Fill out the form here to gain access if you haven’t already migrated over.