In tech and innovation circles, two terms often pop up in early-stage project discussions: Proof of Concept (PoC) and Proof of Value (PoV). They sound similar, and they often get conflated, but they serve very different purposes—and knowing when to focus on one over the other can save you time, money, and credibility.
Let’s unpack the differences and ask the big question: should you always focus on the latter?
The Basics: What’s the Difference?
Proof of Concept (PoC)
A PoC answers one question: “Can we build it?”
It’s a limited-scope experiment to demonstrate that a certain approach or technology can work in principle.
- Goal: Feasibility
- Scope: Narrow, often technical
- Output: Evidence that the idea is technically achievable
- Example: Testing if your AI model can detect anomalies in raw sensor data with 80% accuracy.
Proof of Value (PoV)
A PoV answers a different question: “Should we build it?”
It evaluates not only feasibility but also impact—business value, user adoption, operational fit, and ROI.
- Goal: Viability and business justification
- Scope: Broader, often includes real-world conditions
- Output: Evidence that implementing this solution will produce measurable value
- Example: Demonstrating that deploying the anomaly detection AI in the manufacturing pipeline reduces downtime by 15%, saving $1.2M annually.
Why Proof of Concept Often Feels Like a Safety Blanket
Organizations love PoCs because they feel low-risk.
- Technical teams get to explore without committing to production.
- Stakeholders see quick progress in the form of demos.
- Budgets stay contained (at least initially).
But here’s the trap:
A successful PoC doesn’t guarantee adoption, ROI, or even relevance. You can have a technically brilliant solution that solves a problem nobody cares enough to pay for. The graveyard of corporate innovation is full of “great ideas” that died because they never made the jump from possible to valuable.
Why Proof of Value Matters More in Most Cases
When the goal is to secure investment, scale adoption, or align with strategic priorities, a PoV is the stronger currency.
A PoV forces you to:
- Quantify impact – Tie your work to measurable business outcomes.
- Align with stakeholders – Solve problems they actually want solved.
- Test under real-world conditions – No more lab-only scenarios.
In other words, it moves you beyond the cool tech demo and into justified investment territory.
When to Choose One Over the Other
You shouldn’t always skip the PoC. There are times it’s the right move:
- High technical uncertainty: You don’t yet know if the problem is solvable with available tools.
- Early R&D: The primary goal is learning, not selling the idea internally.
- Regulated industries: You must prove safety or compliance before evaluating ROI.
But if your technology is already mature or the technical path is well-understood, jumping straight to a PoV can accelerate time-to-value and prevent “PoC purgatory.”
The Hybrid Approach
One effective strategy: treat the PoC as a technical milestone within a larger PoV initiative.
- Phase 1 (PoC): De-risk the technology in a controlled environment.
- Phase 2 (PoV): Test the solution in a real-world scenario with agreed-upon success metrics—financial, operational, or customer-related.
This way, you keep the agility of a PoC but ensure you never lose sight of the ultimate goal: delivering value.
The Bottom Line
If the outcome you’re after is buy-in, budget, and impact, the conversation should center around Proof of Value. Proof of Concept answers “Can we?”—which is important—but Proof of Value answers “Should we?” and “Will it matter?”
In a world where ideas are cheap but execution and adoption are everything, focusing on value ensures your efforts translate into real-world impact—not just another abandoned pilot.
