Beta gets a bad rap these days. Sachin is right that the designation can become an excuse. Google kept Gmail (a truly great product) in beta for over five years, and customers became comfortable with the concept. Lazy companies take advantage of this comfort and say "beta" when they mean "buggy." Wrong. However, a beta done right is one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal.

There's no substitute for getting your product in front of customers but it's not always easy. It's 2010 and anyone can launch a Minimum Viable Product for peanuts. This is great for products aimed at individuals, but it's tougher to convince an enterprise to take a chance.

Enterprises move slowly, and sales cycles can be long and difficult. It's tough to ship fast and iterate quickly when you have to deal with budget cycles, legacy systems, and institutional inertia. Big organizations are full of people whose goals aren't aligned with yours.

A good beta program can help mitigate these risk factors. What makes a good beta program? In my view, it needs at least the following:

• A working product, clear implementation plan, and finite timeframe
• An internal champion at the customer
• A product manager on your end whose life depends on a successful beta
• Measurable evaluation critera

Well-run beta programs are a lot of work. If you launch your product to an enterprise without providing proper support, getting influencers on your side, mitigating concerns, and proving that you solve the customer's problem better than anyone else, you will fail.

But if you do it right, your customers will tell you what's in the whole product you need to build to win the market. They'll feel special because they helped. You'll build the relationships you need in the organization and convince the decision maker to open her wallet. You'll make the customer successful and they'll love you for it--even if you have a few bugs.