Daniel has 8 years of configurator experience, ranging from factory shop floor configuration systems (proprietary dynamic assembly instruction generation), through SAP Variant Configuration up to standalone sales applications and e-commerce configurators and sizers (IPC Advanced Mode, Trilogy).

Daniel has been working with SAP IPC & VC since 1999, starting as VC product modeler of server products at Hewlett-Packard and evolving into a team lead / project manager for complex configurator projects, including an in-depth evaluation study of SAP IPC Advanced mode to support HP’s datacenter racking & slotting requirements.

His previous experience includes development of real-time control and communication systems (subway train and natural gas distribution control, satellite communication).  Daniel holds a master's degree in engineering from Ecole Centrale Paris, France and the Faculty of Nuclear Sciences and Physical Engineering in Prague, Czech Republic.

His passion for the practical applications of machine reasoning and knowledge representation has guided his career to date.  At IntelliCorp, a knowledge-based tool vendor, he was a key developer of multi-purpose development tools for building object-oriented, rule-based expert systems.  At university, he authored and published technical papers on interactive classification (a process akin to interactive product selection in order management), and knowledge-based simulation.

When SAP sought a partner to co-develop a Java version of their product configurator, they chose David as the first external member of their team, due to a high degree of similarity of SAP’s planned Sales Configurator Engine (SCE) with IntelliCorp’s object and rule system.  When SAP was ready to begin development in California of a Java version of their pricing engine, they sent David to SAP headquarters in Walldorf, Germany to inject techniques and experience gained on the SCE project into the Sales Pricing Engine project (SPE).  These two components became the core of SAP’s Internet Pricing & Configurator (IPC) now widely used by SAP’s customers.

His strategy of first participating in the development of, then hands-on consulting on the application of complex software products has proven to be of especial benefit to clients with significant, challenging gaps between standard SAP software and their business requirements related to processes for selling, servicing, costing, planning, and manufacturing configurable products.  Combined with a results-oriented, your-problem-is-my-problem attitude, Mr. Silverman has a history of completing successful projects that deliver significant business value and ROI.

David holds a M.S., Computer Science, with a Concentration in Artificial Intelligence from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)

Don Cochran, VP Sales, Business Development and Product Management, is a cofounder of eSpline LLC.  He has over 16 years experience with a variety of companies offering configuration software and consulting services  He is responsible for managing and developing partner alliances, sales, business development and product management for eSpline.  Don worked with SAP AG during the last year helping them identify complimentary software.  Don is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Configuration Workgroup [CWG].

Don recently was with TSC and helped establish a configuration consulting practice oriented around SAP and several third party configurator applications.  He also worked with several Global 2000 companies advising them on their configuration software selection and development, partner alliances and business development organizations. 

Don has a working knowledge of many configuration application solutions and is considered to have expert knowledge of the configuration software market place.