Pulling off a live product demo is stressful enough without your cloud environment freezing, lagging, or throwing mystery errors. If you’re using Cloudshare to spin up demo environments, you know it’s a great tool—but it’s not magic. Performance bottlenecks, network hiccups, and “it worked yesterday” moments are real. This guide is for sales engineers, solution architects, and anyone who has to demo software to customers and wants it to look fast, slick, and reliable.
No fluff here—just hard-won tips, honest warnings, and a few things you can skip. Let’s get into it.
1. Prepare Your Environment Early (No, Really)
Don’t Wait Until Demo Day
Cloud environments aren’t like flipping on a light switch. Even with templates, it can take 15–30 minutes (sometimes more) for a Cloudshare environment to spin up, run updates, and stabilize. Give yourself at least an hour before your demo for setup and troubleshooting.
- Spin up your environment early the day of the demo. If possible, prep it the night before.
- Login and check every component: Databases, web apps, integrations—don’t assume they’re running just because you see a green light.
- Run through your demo script, step by step. Don’t skip this. Even if you’ve done it 50 times, today’s the day the password reset flow decides to break.
Pro tip: Always have a backup environment ready, paused and waiting. If your main demo VM tanks, you can switch over fast.
2. Watch Your Resource Allocation
More RAM and CPU Isn’t Always the Answer
Cloudshare lets you pick from different VM sizes, but throwing “more” at a problem isn’t always smart (or cheap).
- Right-size your machines: For web app demos, 4–8 GB RAM and 2 vCPUs is usually enough. Unless you’re demoing something resource-hungry (like a data analytics suite), bigger VMs just burn budget.
- Test with customer data volumes: If your product chokes on real-world data, you want to find out before you’re live.
- Monitor resource usage: Use built-in Cloudshare tools or OS-level monitors (like Task Manager or top) to check for spikes.
What doesn’t work: Spinning up “beefy” VMs for peace of mind. It usually doesn’t fix slow web apps or flaky integrations—those are often network or app issues.
3. Mind the Network — Yours and Theirs
Bandwidth is a Demo Killer
Cloudshare environments run in the cloud, but your connection can still bottleneck the experience.
- Use wired internet if you can. Wi-Fi is fine until your neighbor starts streaming 4K video.
- Test from your demo location: VPNs, hotel Wi-Fi, or corporate firewalls can slow things down or block ports.
- Ask your customer if they’re on a VPN or restrictive network. If they’ll be clicking around, have them test access before the demo.
Pro tip: Have a mobile hotspot as a backup. It’s not ideal, but it beats “Sorry, it’s usually faster.”
4. Limit What’s Running in the Environment
Demo-Only Means Demo-Only
It’s tempting to load your Cloudshare VM with extras “just in case.” Resist the urge.
- Keep it minimal: Only install what you need for the demo. Extra services eat resources and can cause weird conflicts.
- Pause background processes: Disable automatic OS updates, scheduled scans, or anything else that could spike CPU during your demo.
- No surprise logins: Make sure you’re logged in everywhere—web apps, databases, admin panels—so you’re not fumbling with passwords live.
What to ignore: Fancy monitoring agents or “demo enhancement” tools unless you know exactly what they do. Extra layers can actually slow you down.
5. Preload Data, Don’t Rely on Imports
Data Loads Break at the Worst Time
If your product demo relies on loading data, do it before you share your screen.
- Import needed datasets ahead of time. Even small CSVs can take forever to upload in a live demo.
- Cache or pre-generate results: If you need to show analytics or search, trigger those jobs before the call.
- Clear out test data regularly. Old junk data can cause confusion or slow things down.
Pro tip: Use anonymized but real-looking data. Customers spot “lorem ipsum” a mile away.
6. Control Access and Permissions
Fewer Users, Fewer Surprises
Letting multiple people into your demo environment can cause chaos.
- Share access sparingly. Only give control to people who need it, and never use your own admin account for customer access.
- Reset credentials before each demo. You don’t want a previous prospect still lurking with access.
- Double-check permissions: Make sure demo users can’t break things or see sensitive info.
What doesn’t work: Using the same environment for multiple demos without a reset. Things get messy, fast.
7. Keep an Eye on Environment Lifespans
Expired Environments = Dead Demos
Cloudshare VMs can be set to auto-suspend or terminate after a period of inactivity.
- Check your environment timer before you start. If your environment is set to shut down after 60 minutes of idle time, you might get booted mid-demo.
- Extend session time as needed. Set it for longer than you think you’ll need, with a buffer for Q&A.
- Warn your team: Don’t let others use your demo environment unless they know the timer rules.
Pro tip: Put a sticky note on your monitor with the shutdown time. Old-school, but it works.
8. Have a “Plan B” for Demo Fails
Don’t Let a Crash Kill the Conversation
No matter how much you prep, tech fails happen. How you handle them matters more than the failure itself.
- Keep screenshots or a short video walkthrough handy. If something breaks, you can still show what the customer came to see.
- Be honest if the environment misbehaves. Customers appreciate candor over excuses.
- Don’t try to “fix it live.” Unless it’s a 10-second fix, move on and follow up later.
What doesn’t work: Blaming “the cloud” or vague “technical issues.” Own it, keep it moving, and focus on value.
9. Don’t Chase Every New Feature
Stick With What’s Stable
It’s tempting to show off the latest Cloudshare bells and whistles, but new features can be buggy.
- Use the tried-and-true parts of Cloudshare. Stick to workflows you’ve tested dozens of times.
- Read release notes, but don’t rush to adopt. Wait for features to mature before building them into your demos.
- Ask around: The Cloudshare community forums are honest about what’s stable and what’s not.
Ignore the hype: If a feature isn’t battle-tested, it’s not demo-ready.
10. Debrief and Improve, Every Time
Learn From Each Demo
After each demo, take five minutes to jot down what went well and what broke.
- Keep a simple checklist: What loaded fast? What lagged? What stumped the customer?
- Update your environment template: Fix issues right away, before you forget.
- Share notes with your team. Odds are, they’re running into the same issues.
Pro tip: Iterate, don’t overhaul. Small tweaks add up fast.
That’s it. No secret sauce, just careful prep, ruthless simplicity, and a few backup plans. Cloudshare is a solid platform, but your demo’s only as good as the environment you build. Keep things streamlined, stay honest about what works, and don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be. The best demos aren’t the flashiest—they’re the ones that work.