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I've been meaning to blog about these for a while following a tip off by Steve Luper. They're a great collection of "Powerpoint demo simulations". What the hell are they I hear you ask? Allow me to explain:
The Demo Showcase is a great tool for demonstrating the capability of a number of Microsoft products working on conjunction to provide a real business solution. It was born out of the Technical Demonstration Toolkit which whilst a great tool, was very product focused. If you wanted a demo of Sharepoint that's great but if you wanted to link it to Exchange, Windows Mobile and LCS you had to craft your own demo and then fill it with your own dummy data. That's where the Demo Showcase came in and provided a set of pre-canned solution oriented demos. Chris Parkes has way more info on it over on his blog.
However, one downside of the Demo Showcase is it required a honking big machine to run multiple virtual PC's simultaneously (try saying that after a few glasses this Christmas) and it meant many sales folks couldn't get the benefit of the showcase without a laptop upgrade and the associated series of appointments with a chiropodist. Two answer this, we've built a set of PowerPoint simulations that are a series of screen captures that show the demos as if you were running them live but they just need a mouse click to run through.
I know what you're thinking - this is a cheating, lightweight cop-out of a demo approach. As a Geek in Disguise I would have to agree but having used them at a few events recently, they're actually downright useful. They're quick and easy to setup, they don't suffer from demo gremlins, you can customize logos and they allow you to spend time talking more about the scenario. The downside is that you're stuck with the slides and can't do off-piste demos and there will always be some smart alec in the front row who calls your bluff so I'd suggest being up front about them. If customers enjoy them, you can always follow up with a real world demo.
So what are you waiting for? If nothing else, there is almost certainly something you can nick from them for your own presentations. Here's an example of what you get:
Enabling Effective Communication
Role supported: Sales
Technologies: Office Communicator, Live Communications Server, OneNote
Summary: Shows how a sales manager takes notes during a meeting and then communicates instantly with fellow employees to ensure that tasks are being completed. She uses Microsoft Office Communicator 2005 and OneNote. When these applications are combined with Live Communications Server 2005, all employees can get their most important information easier and more efficiently.
Download the Demo Script and PowerPoint Simulation