TCO models vividly show that with distributed systems, labor
costs far exceed the initial acquisition costs of the computing
equipment. Furthermore, the costs escalate rapidly as PCs and
LANs become the defacto infrastructure.
Our data shows that on an annual basis, a networked PC costs
about $13,200 per node annually for hardware, software, support
and administrative services and end-user operations. By utilizing
best-of-breed system management tools, coupled with a management
enabled platform, the TCO of distributed PC/LAN-based systems
can be reduced by more than $2,000 (15 percent) annually.
One of the most painful truths to emerge from the distributed
computing model of the 1990s is that support costs have escalated
well past anyone's expectations. Enterprises are finding that
hidden costs - e.g., non-technical, non-IS personnel attempting
to resolve EUC or LAN problems - can be as much as 24 percent
of the entire IS budget.
End-user time spent on non-job-related PC activities accounts
for more than 40 percent of a PC's total cost More than 50 percent
of IT expense lies outside the IS organization.
Desktop management leads to a $225 annual reduction in technical
support and user operations costs. A comparable cost reduction
of $220 annually comes from the ability to discover and inventory
the desktop components. An up-to-date inventory helps a number
of constituencies, including the help desk, asset managers, auditors,
service providers and IS planners.
Remote control technology had the largest cost reduction, saving
over $400 annually in technical support, administration and end-user
costs. The reduction in peer support is significant, with more
than $200 savings per user annually projected by using remote
control instead of local labor to troubleshoot systems and teach
users remotely.
Ultimately, PCs and users will be able to heal themselves, taking
advantage of adaptive technology that learns the patterns of events
and anticipates and corrects problems before they happen. The
lowest cost event is one that does not happen.
Most enterprise cannot delay taking the recommended steps to
reduce distributed computing TCO Vendors are releasing products
specifically aimed at reducing technical support, administration
and end-user operating costs.
The time to begin investing in distributed system management
technology is now.
