What is ‘TCO’ and what is it doing in my computer?
Printing business owners need to understand all the elements that go into the operating expenses of their enterprise. Dave Bell of Quote & Print (right) shows how to calculate the full costs of introducing a new management information system to your company.
TCO means 'total cost of ownership' and in this context it represents the total cost to your company when installing a new management information system (MIS). It is much more than just the initial price quoted by your vendor. It represents the total price to your company over the period that you use the MIS system.
At Quote & Print we sometimes get frustrated with the amount of time a printer will spend making the decision to buy an MIS. But that’s OK, because we know in these cases that at the end of the process the decision will be a considered one, with all factors taken into account and, following on from that, the installation will be relatively smooth.
At Quote & Print we believe that we have the lowest TCO of any comparable system in the printing industry. So it is worthwhile to understand what exactly is involved in working out the total cost of ownership?
PurchaseThe initial purchase price of your software licence. This would be covered in your initial quote.
TrainingCost of training. Is this included in the price? Is it for a fixed period or a fixed number of hours, and does it cover full training of your key staff? Are the trainer’s accommodation and transport expenses taken into account? Do any training credits expire after a year? Is the training structured and prepared by a certified trainer? Will you need to get in temporary staff while your staff are being trained? How much will this cost?
Extra CostsDo you need to pay licencing charges for 3rd party software, eg for your Oracle database or your Microsoft SQL database? Are these one-off charges or are they annual charges?
Software Upgrades Are they included in the cost of the software? Are they included in your yearly support charges? Are they an extra charge?
Implementation How long will it take to set up your new system and have staff trained to be competent users? Will your staff have the time to do this or will you need temporary staff?
Annual maintenance/support chargesHow much are they? Do you receive yearly or twice yearly upgrades in return for your maintenance/annual support charges?
Extra Licences
Your company will grow. How much are extra user licences? As a rule of thumb you will need about one user licence for every three employees.
Extra ModulesIs it more expensive to buy extra modules later rather than all at once?
Down TimeIs local on site support available in your state to avoid unnecessary downtime?
SupportIs local support available? Can your technical staff talk to the software developers?Do you need to employ a full time IT person to baby sit your MIS system and, if so, what is the cost?
Company ProceduresDo you have the company policies and procedures in place to ensure your MIS investment improves efficiency and means that the required reporting will be available? If not, what would be the cost of setting up these policies and practices.
For more information on the Total Cost of Ownership of a Quote & Print Management Information System or to work out how much your existing system is costing you, contact your local Quote & Print distributor.
Printing business owners need to understand all the elements that go into the operating expenses of their enterprise. Dave Bell of Quote & Print (right) shows how to calculate the full costs of introducing a new management information system to your company.