« Upgrading Video Surveillance with Digital. | Main | Multimedia PC - Audio »
August 17, 2005
Calculating Total Cost of Ownership
When one operating system costs $2000 and another $150, the cheaper one makes more sense at first glance. There are a ton of hidden costs when setting up a network server that go beyond the price tag on the box. We call the sum of those costs "Total Cost of Ownership."
ZDNet has a good discussion of the factors involved in TCO:
Those variables and others--such as what distribution of Linux is in play and the version of Windows or Unix it's being compared with--make it impossible to plug numbers into a preset formula and spit out an easy answer, explained Al Gillen, research director of systems software for tech analyst IDC, which has been doing TCO studies for several years.
Both Linux advocates and Microsoft will tell you that their way of doing things has the advantage. From the same article:
"The cost of acquisition of software, hardware--all the things you buy up front--that's a minority element of the total cost of ownership of any operating system," he said. "Whether you pay $2,000 for a Windows license or $49.95 for a boxed copy of Linux, over the course of its lifetime, that ends up being a minor cost."
Gillen pointed out that $2,000 divided over five years is $400. "What is the cost for a technical support professional per hour to be there on staff? Probably a couple of hundred dollars," he noted.
This makes a lot of sense at face value, but it's really a lot more complicated. What looks like a minimal cost over five years isn't really. If you're setting up a mail server, for example, you need a license for Windows, but then you need another one for Exchange. Then you need client licenses. If you need a database server as well, you need a license for SQL Server. You probably won't want to run e-mail and database engine on the same box, so now you need two Windows server licenses.
In the Linux world, you simply install the same $150 package on one or more servers. Activate the mail program on one, the web server on another, and the database on a third. Your total outlay is still $150.
But that's not the end of the discussion, of course. This assumes that the products are equal; that's not even a dangerous assumption, it's foolhardy. There's also the labor factor. We'll discuss these in the future.
Posted by Edward J. Branley at August 17, 2005 11:06 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.nola-blogs.com/cgi-bin/mt/ruebourbon.cgi/41
Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Calculating Total Cost of Ownership:
» Does meridia really work. from Buying meridia in mexico.
Meridia. Meridia anxiety. Meridia coupon. [Read More]
Tracked on November 3, 2007 6:48 AM
» Viagra side effects. from Viagra.
Viagra. Viagra online. Cheap viagra. Viagra on line. Viagra samples. Generic viagra. Best price on viagra. Re viagra cello. [Read More]
Tracked on November 5, 2007 2:13 AM
» Taking trazadone and lexapro together. from Lexapro.
How take together wellbutrin lexapro. Lexapro weight gain. Lexapro side effects. Stop taking lexapro. Lexapro. [Read More]
Tracked on November 5, 2007 5:21 AM
» Propecia uk order online. from Propecia moins cher.
Propecia online. Propecia. Finasteride propecia. Long term side effects of propecia. Propecia and online drugs stores. Propecia side effects fre. Buy propecia buy cheap propecia online. Buy propecia. [Read More]
Tracked on November 6, 2007 4:54 AM
» Xanax. from Buy xanax online.
Xanax drug test. Xanax no prescription. Does xanax make sex better. Xanax for sale. Xanax. Xanax online. Xanax with klonopin. [Read More]
Tracked on November 7, 2007 12:57 PM
» Fda approved ephedra for 2006. from Buy ephedra online drugstores yellow swarms.
Products containing ephedra. [Read More]
Tracked on November 8, 2007 4:34 AM