"Good" TCO Analysis: A Lot More than License Costs
Virtually everyone uses the acronym TCO (total cost of ownership) for the type of calculation designed to help enterprise managers assess the costs and benefits related to the purchase of IT systems. Originated by the Gartner Group, TCO has evolved into a number of different tools aimed at assisting technology purchasers to calculate their final inclusive cost. But TCO calculations are not just about the most obvious direct and indirect costs. "Good" TCO analysis should also bring to light the hidden or non-obvious ownership costs that might otherwise be overlooked or undervalued when making purchase decisions.
Consider software purchases. Here, your fully burdened cost needs not only to include the cost of the original licenses, but also to factor in such infrastructure and operational expenses as hardware procurement and upkeep, installation and deployment time, software maintenance fees, ongoing technical support, staffing, training and professional services. Only when all of these less direct costs are used in the overall evaluation can TCO analyses accurately reflect their intended purpose.
Evaluating systems management solutions in 2011? To uncover some TCO considerations you might have otherwise overlooked, read this recently updated EMA white paper, Best Practices in Lifecycle Management: Comparing Dell KACE, Symantec Altiris, LANDesk, and Microsoft SCCM.
Sincerely,
Wynn White
Vice President of Marketing, Dell KACE.
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