Free and Open Source Software - Cost Comparison Model

2,480,000

Office Productivity tools

Client Access Licences

Anti – Virus/Spam

Total Annual Expend- iture

The model is to help produce a cost comparison between OSS and proprietary installations. The OSS architecture assumes a network centric model where user authentication is done by a server, user files are held on a central file server and emails on an email server. The proprietary model tries to provide options to cover all scenarios. This means that many of the fields may need to be set to zero for any one particular case.

There are a number of simplifying assumptions. For instance no attempt is made to model the accounting policies relating to depreciation or the effects of taxation. The model is intended to give managers a feel for where the major costs and cost differences lie.

This is a list of desktop types referred to in the model. Change the details as appropriate. If inserting a new row make sure the desktops data range which covers the whole table still does so.

Enter the details as shown by the headings. The Desktop Description is not used elsewhere and so is just a convenient marker. The Type must be a unique number and is used as an index. The initial cost should not include the operating system. The annual support is an estimate of the support required for the hardware not the software installed on it. The number of desktops replaced every year is calculated as TOTAL/LIFE(YRS).

This is a list of server types referred to in the model. Change the details as appropriate. If inserting a new row make sure the servers data range which covers the whole table still does so.

Enter the details as shown by the headings. The Server Description is not used elsewhere and so is just a convenient marker. The Type must be a unique number and is used as an index. The annual support is an estimate of the support required for the hardware not the software installed on it.

This is used to calculate the daily cost of an Administration support person. All such people are assumed to work the same number of days. Strictly the number should not include holidays.

This is used to calculate the hourly cost of an Administration support person. All such people are assumed to work the same number of hours.

The Desktop type is a pointer to the list of desktops in the variables sheet. If an appropriate desktop is not defined then set up a new one.

This is the length of time required to set up the hardware and software on a typical desktop. It is assumed that the person doing this is a systems support person.

The details of the hardware is found from the list of desktops in the variables sheet by using the desktop type entered.

The details are found from the Base Data at the bottom of the sheet.

This is intended to show the cost of supporting thin client/remote display applications already deployed in the proprietary installation. Remote display applications created as part of the migration are shown on the migration sheet. The details are found from the Base Data at the bottom of the sheet.

This assumes that the remote desktop uses a VPN. If not then set the Base Data at the bottom of the sheet to contain whatever additional software is required over an internal desktop to allow connection to be made.

This assumes that because the desktop is isolated then some sort of firewall protection is required on it . The details are found from the Base Data at the bottom of the sheet.

Insert details of the relevant software here. If a particular group is not used then insert zeros. The costs are assumed to be per desktop and not per potential user.

Enter the details under the appropriate heading. If the feature is not used or available enter zero. The licence is able to have both an initial and an annual component. If both are entered then both are assumed payable in the first year. The annual update is provided in case this is a separately chargeable item. The annual support is the time taken by internal support people to manage the software once installed, including help desks.

This line is the total of the office items below. IT IS NOT AN INPUT FIELD.

Enter the details of any user based client access licences that will be needed for applications which were already thin client/remote display in the proprietary installation. If there are none enter zeros.

Enter the details of any server based client access licences that will be needed for applications which were already thin client/remote display in the proprietary installation. If there are none enter zeros.

The age distribution of the desktops is assumed to be uniform and so the same proportion is replaced each year. However when the installation upgrades it could be assumed that all desktops are immediately replaced. The is probably unreasonable and this parameter allows the newer ones to be retained with only the older ones replaced. Also this parameter is only used if the desktop type changes at upgrade.

This is the cost of a typical systems support person. Such a person would be a help desk operator, a hardware support engineer etc. This should be the cost to the Administration of employing him/her and so should include costs other than just salary. For instance pension contributions and additional employer taxes.

This is the cost of a typical systems administration person. Such a person would be someone responsible for maintaining one or more server types. They are likely to be more qualified than the systems support person. This should be the cost to the Administration of employing him/her and so should include costs other than just salary. For instance pension contributions and additional employer taxes.

This is the annual cost of managing licences. This could on fact be zero but most organisations ought to attend to their compliance with licence conditions and this will incur a cost. This number is just included as a flat annual charge in the comparison.

The number of systems administrators is calculated by dividing the total number of servers by this parameter.

The cost of servers is spread over the number of years specified here. Hence in any year a charge is made of the annual amount plus the initial amount divided by this parameter.

Enter the server type, the number of concurrent users for the particular service and the per site indicator. The server types are in the variables sheet. There is a null server type with zero hardware costs to allow for the situation where physical boxes may provide multiple services. In this case set one of the services to the real server type and the others to the null type. The number of servers required is calculated as one per site ( if the one per site indicator is set to 1 ) together with what is needed to server the remaining number of users. The cost of each service is based on the details in the Base Data at the bottom of the sheet. The number of users is that input to the Summary sheet. The number of mail users could be considerably different if virtual users are allowed. The comparison doesn't support this difference at the moment.

These services are assumed to be Domain Controllers and other network services etc.

Enter the cost of software for each service under the relevant heading. All costs are per user and each user in the total number of users in the summary is assumed to make use of the service. The cost should include the operating system as well as the specific service software. Where physical servers provide multiple services then the cost of the operating system will need to be included in only one of the services sharing the machine to stop double counting. If a particular service is not used then insert zeros.

This service is to allow for the continuation of a Unix style centralised office server displaying on the desktop in a thin client environment.

This service is to allow for the continuation of remote display thin client applications which were available before the migration.

This section allows estimates of the training costs to be entered. Only the training required to bring people up to their current level of capability in the proprietary installation should be included. Training for new employees for instance should not be included if that level of training would have been given in the proprietary installation as well.

Conversion costs should be for a like for like conversion. However Administrations may take the opportunity to upgrade their code and this cost should be removed if possible.

Application rewrite costs should be on a like for like basis. However Administrations may take the opportunity to upgrade their code and this cost should be removed if possible.

User training may be needed to familiarise the users with a different user interface and possibly also a different system architecture and security model.

Systems staff will need comprehensive training if the proprietary installation is not UNIX like.

If the Administration has its own programming staff then they will need to be trained in the new environment if the current one is not UNIX like.

The cost of converting templates and macros will depend on their complexity. Only after a thorough inspection will Administrations be able to put reasonably accurate estimates for their own site here. A pilot study would provide a good start.

This is for applications that have to be converted to a remote display architecture in order to migrate them. It is not the cost of applications which were already in this format unless they need changing because they do not work for some reason under the new environment.

The costs of legacy applications being ported or rewritten are significantly different. Care has to be taken to make sure that only those costs incurred because of a migration are included. A complete rewrite may well significantly improve the functionality of an application and the cost should only be allowed if not including these improvements would not significantly alter the cost. Porting is likely to be a few changes to detail whereas a rewrite may be in a completely different programming language.

This is to cover estimates of the excess costs of running an OSS environment not covered elsewhere. They could be for example higher initial user training because OSS not widely used. Any amount in here is likely to be very subjective until sufficient long term experience is available. The parameter is included for completeness.

This is for servers required to run remote display applications which have been written as part of the migration. The costs here may get mixed up with existing remote display servers and it may be difficult to obtain accurate input.