This blog is a summary of Josh Aranoff’s episode on The New GTM Playbook podcast. Head to The New GTM Playbook page to watch the latest episodes.
For anyone leading a solutions engineering team in SaaS, few voices resonate as strongly as Josh Aranoff’s. As Global VP of Solutions Engineering at Procore and a Salesforce alum of 18 years, Josh has witnessed firsthand the changes in how software is sold, delivered, and valued.
Josh joined me to share his thoughts on the evolution of solutions engineering, the growing expectations of SaaS buyers, and the importance of taking risks to drive innovation.
The Evolution of Solutions Engineering: Adapting to Complexity
As products grow more complex, so must the strategies of the teams supporting them. Josh shared how this reality played out during his time at Procore, where the evolution of their product portfolio drove a shift in their solutions engineering approach.
“In the beginning, we were doing a lot of point-and-click demonstrations because there weren’t as many offerings out there,” Josh explained. “Easy to use—that was what was going to hammer it home. But as competitors caught up, everyone became easy to use. We had to think about what types of demonstrations we wanted to do.”
This shift underscores a critical challenge for SE leaders: balancing the technical breadth and depth required to effectively showcase an evolving product portfolio. As new solutions are added, SEs need to develop expertise across multiple offerings while still being able to dive deep into specific products when necessary.
“The strategy has to evolve alongside the product,” Josh emphasized. “You need to understand what your buyers need at every stage and ensure your SEs are equipped to deliver the right experience—whether that’s breadth for a broader story or depth for a specific use case.”
This evolution isn’t just about keeping pace with competitors; it’s about creating a solutions engineering organization that can scale alongside the business while continuing to meet the rising expectations of today’s buyers.
SaaS is Growing Up, and Customers Are Changing the Game
SaaS is no longer the new frontier—it’s a 20-year-old industry with increasingly savvy buyers. Josh emphasized how this maturity has shifted customer expectations. “What they need from the types of people after a deal is sold is more of a consultant. And I think this is where this kind of, what is the CSM and the SE? Those two roles… are colliding.”
This blending of roles stems from a common goal: ensuring continuity for customers from the pre-sale experience through adoption. “The expectation is you’re going to be there not only right then when you’re showing it, but that what you’ve shown is going to carry through.”
Shaping the Future of Solutions Engineering
Josh sees a future where SEs and other go-to-market roles continue to converge. “Products are not getting easier to use—they’re getting harder and more complex. And things like AI bring a whole different level of complexity. So the question is, are they [AEs or SEs] ready to take on that bag?”
He also predicts changes in compensation models to align incentives across teams. “The folks that are traditional presales need to have some adoption metrics. And the folks that are traditional post-sales need to have some revenue metrics. If you incent people to do that, who wins is the customer.”
Ultimately, Josh views solutions engineering as one of the most impactful roles in SaaS. “We get such a purview in this beautiful nexus between product and enablement and marketing and sales. Sometimes you don’t even realize all the impact and influence you have.”
He also emphasized the importance of taking chances within organizations. “Try to create areas where you can experiment. We didn’t have this idea of a tools or productivity team or demo engineering… but we used some headcount to do that. And now what used to take us days to create environments takes us minutes or hours.”
Josh’s advice to SEs and leaders alike? “Be real about your risk tolerance, embrace change, and recognize the power of enablement. There’s so much opportunity for those willing to step forward.”
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