Frequently asked questions.

SIM Advantage is a member benefit that turns the technology purchasing your company already does into value for you, your chapter, and the SIM community. You buy from the same suppliers at the same or better pricing — and your spend generates SIM Advantage Credits for your company, Chapter Credits for your chapter, and support for SIM National.

No. You receive the same competitive pricing you have already negotiated — often better, because a Certified Trusted Advisor helps you evaluate the market. The program never adds a cost, a fee, or a markup to anything you buy.

Technology suppliers budget a standard cost of sale as part of doing business — it is paid on nearly every contract, whether or not anyone in the SIM community benefits. SIM Advantage organizes those existing dollars so they flow back to the community the buyers belong to. Nothing new is charged, and nothing touches your invoice.

Your eligible technology spend earns SIM Advantage Credits your company can use — SIM membership dues, training scholarships, TECHExec attendance, Enclave seats, Foundation giving, and more. Your technology review shows the actual numbers for your portfolio.

The same participation that earns your credits strengthens the SIM community you belong to — chapter programming, events, and member development where you live, along with the Leadership Institute and the Foundation's STEM giving. One action, and your whole SIM community benefits with you.

Credits are calculated, not promised. Each supplier funds the program at a different level; the program applies its defined shares to what is actually received and expresses the result as SIM Advantage Credits. Your technology review calculates the exact figure for your supplier mix.

A SIM Advantage Certified Trusted Advisor guides your technology evaluations — an expert across the supplier market who works in your interest with full transparency. ISG is the program's founding advisor; certified advisors are also active in specific chapters. If you already work with a technology advisor, tell us who they are — the program is built to work with them, not around them.

Nine categories cover most of an IT portfolio: network connectivity, network edge and SD-WAN, security, cloud and colocation, communications (UCaaS/CCaaS), application optimization, business intelligence and data, software licensing, and AI and automation.

The nine categories, defined:

1. Network Connectivity — dedicated internet access, broadband, private lines, wavelength services, and fixed wireless connecting offices, data centers, and clouds.
2. Network Edge / SD-WAN — SD-WAN overlays, managed routers and edge devices, and the orchestration that keeps branch sites performing.
3. Cloud / IaaS / Colo — public cloud compute and storage, private and hosted cloud, and colocation space, power, and interconnection.
4. Security / SASE — managed detection and response, firewalls, zero-trust access, and SASE stacks protecting users, sites, and data.
5. CX / UCaaS / CXaaS — unified communications and contact center platforms, with their agent tooling and analytics.
6. Application Optimization — load balancing, content delivery, WAN and application performance, and observability tooling.
7. Software Licensing — productivity suites, SaaS subscriptions, and enterprise license agreements.
8. Business Intelligence — data platforms, pipelines, and the BI tooling a leadership team runs on.
9. AI & Automation — conversational AI, machine-learning platforms, document and workflow automation, and RPA.

No. The way to start is a simple technology review: share an upcoming purchase, renewal, supplier, or need — even one you haven't fully defined — and an advisor helps you evaluate it. You stay in control of every decision, and your pricing stays exactly as negotiated. Start a technology review.