Successful Case Studies
Below are examples of general searches and hard target searches from previous tech scouting efforts. Our clients are always anonymous to protect their identity.
Case Study #1- Broad search for various cyber technologies
The Client provided ASC with a "shopping list" of technology applications, which ASC folded into its master shopping list. ASC searched for these applications (data mining, network security, data fusion, etc) among others for its 2010 American Security Challenge, which generated 165 applicant submissions. ASC screened down the applicants and provided short lists to the Client in the each of the application fields sought. From this short list, the Client selected six to pilot with two additional runner-ups in the event that any of the first six were not able to proceed with a pilot. All six pilots were completed in 2011. Applicants were selected for potential acquisition, licensing, resale to Client customers, insertion into Client solution suites and/or deployment into Client's own enterprise.
Case Study #2- Broad search for companies to sub-contract with to DOD client
The Client provided ASC with a "shopping list" of technology applications, which ASC folded into its master shopping list. ASC searched for these applications (renewable energy, fuel cells, unmanned platforms, signals intelligence, network security, biometric data collection, etc) among others for its 2010 American Security Challenge, which generated 165 applicant submissions. ASC provided the higher scoring companies in the areas sought by Client producing seven companies the Client is considering for different division relationships, as well as partnering with a Challenger for a specific DOD opportunity.
Case Study #3- Hard target search (for specific technology)
The Client sought a data mining solution to a specific and pressing problem. Immediately after engagement, ASC and our Client produced a sanitized (public) scenario that described functionality desired by Client without disclosure of the specific application. The scenario was broadly described as "seeking a solution that would allow the customer to identify patterns and trends in substantial volumes of data. For example, the ability to identify unique entities that were purchasing oil stocks on the first and third Thursday of every month with an "m" in it.
ASC broadcast this need through its network and within 45 days ASC identified and had begun screening 135 vendors with possible solutions. Within the first 60 days, the top 20 possible solution were identified. With assistance from the Client's system integrator matching solutions against specific requirements, scalability, functionality, performance, form factor, etc. the top four candidates within the first 90 days. The Client completed its own due diligence on the top four and selected one vendor to "test-drive" in a pilot (small-scale controlled simulation of a live environment) within the first 120 days. Client was satisfied with the testing that occurred over the next two months and roughly 180 days after requirements were selected, the Client entered into discussions for larger scale deployment. The resulting contract was the first contract between that vendor and the Client, which recently entered into a subsequent eight-figure multi-year contract.
Case Study #4- Hard target search (for a specific technology)
The Client was considering integrating a graph database solution into their system to address a specific and pressing problem. The Client was prepared to take one year for the conversation and budgeted more than a million dollars for the project.
The sanitized problem set described very large multiple medical databases of patients, hospitals and diseases with millions of records with frequent category heading modifications and additions causing schema changes degrading performance.
The Client's requirements were broadcast and within 45 days, 60 possible solutions were identified. At the time, graph databases were a new concept, and innovation in that area was bleeding edge with little traction. Two weeks of additional screening narrowed the field to 12 possible solutions. The Client consultant identified their top four solutions matching against specific requirements, scalability, functionality, performance, form factor, and more. These four companies were very different and included a federal national lab, a startup with 30 people, a European 10 year old company, and a huge multi-billion dollar US based software solution vendor.
Within the first 120 days, the Client completed its own evaluation of the top four and determined that none of the solutions would satisfactorily address their problems. Although not delivering a viable solution, the Client was very pleased with the scouting efforts as it determined that the current graph database solutions did NOT provide them the performance they sought. The scouting effort saved a million dollar expense, a year of certain conversion challenges, and summarily not making the wrong decision.
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