Wouldn’t you love to have an answer to that question? As a business owner or manager, you know that technology is an important part of your business. And for many industries, technology is the cornerstone of the revenue stream. But what does it really cost to give an employee the computer and tools they need to do their job?
Foremost technology research company, the Gartner Group, has released a number of studies over the years on this subject. A number of years ago these studies showed costs per user at over $10K per user. The good news is that these figures have come down significantly since then.
If you’re like most business owners, you may only consider the immediate cost of providing technology for your employees (the workstation, monitor, printer, and software) when planning. However, to think only of these direct costs alone would be a mistake. It is important to consider these other items that contribute to the overall cost per employee:
- Software Licensing – The initial cost of the software purchased for an employee. Oftentimes, savings can be realized by purchasing software in bulk or obtaining volume licensing if you need 5 or more copies.
- Software Maintenance & Renewals – Most software has optional software maintenance and support. These packages allow you to obtain technical support at no additional cost and allow you to update to the latest version of the software for free to keep it current.
- Loss of Productivity During Downtime – Ask yourself – how much does it cost if your employees don’t have access to their computer, even for just a half day?
- Replacement Costs – Most hardware items have optional support and warranty agreements that may be purchased. And more often than not (particularly for servers and workstations), the cost of these agreements far outweighs the direct cost of replacement (particularly for higher-end laptops, desktops, and servers).
- Printing Costs – Most businesses don’t consider the cost of replacement supplies (e.g. toner cartridges, fusers, rollers) when purchasing printers. While some printers might seem like a good deal, consider all the costs when considering a printer.
- IT Management (In-House or Outsourced) – How much will it cost to manage a workstation or server? Consider the costs of keeping it up-to-date, monitoring and correcting errors, installing and maintaining accurate and updated drivers and software, etc.
- Spyware/Malware Protection and Removal – Spyware, malware, and viruses are a common issue these days with thousands of new threats discovered daily. Consider the cost and time involved with removing and cleaning machines that might get infected.
- Infrastructure Costs (Cabling, Network, Wireless) – Moving desks, workstations, and servers or adding features to your network such as wireless routers and access points requires installation time and additional maintenance.
- Routers and Switches – Plan for maintenance to your routers and switches. To ensure optimal performance and security, routers and switches need to be updated with the latest software and firmware from the manufacturer. Each user contributes to a portion of this cost.
Many of you may have moved to a Managed Service business model to control many of these costs. But we’re sure you’re wondering if it is actually saving you money to “manage” your technology as opposed to doing what’s been done for years (simply calling someone when it breaks).
The Gartner Group generally doesn’t publish studies on the Web. However, this study (http://www.gartner.com/it/page.jsp?id=636308) from Gartner clearly shows the discrepancy between these two approaches. You’ll notice that the yearly cost per user, while still higher than most business owners’ estimates, is significantly less when managed. In fact, the more managed your network is, the lower your annual cost.
Taking on the responsibility of managing a client’s infrastructure to help manage and control costs is what To Solution does best. We have the personnel and tools to perform these tasks cost effectively. After all, if your server or workstation crashes, it’s on our dime to fix it. As a service provider, we don’t want to incur that cost, so it is in our best interest to keep your network and users running as smoothly as possible. We both benefit.
Tags: Managed Service, server-based computing, support, Technology Costs, WiFi
