Reducing Total Cost of Ownership TCO Mike Chon

Reducing Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) Mike Chon AM Computers

What you will learn l How to lower your TCO by: – Using Private Virtual Network instead of expensive dedicated telecommunication circuits – Minimizing downtime through server clustering and organized disaster recovery procedure – Proactively monitoring for impending problems

Topics demonstrated Live demonstration of Great Plains Dynamics accounting software through Virtual Private Networking (VPN) l Live demonstration of Citrix Win. Frame over the Internet l Proactive monitoring of PCs with Intel Lan. Desk l

What is TCO? Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is defined as all of the possible costs incurred in the life cycle of a workstation, from acquisition to disposal. l Statistics puts the Total Cost of Ownership in business computing in a range between $7 k-$13 k per computer per year. l

TCO and its seven factors Hardware Acquisition l Software Acquisition l Installation l Training l Support l Maintenance l Infrastructure l 17% 7% 4% 7% 21% 7% 36%

What is TCO, continued l During the computer’s lifecycle, the cost of managing and supporting a computer and its users is far greater than the cost of the computer itself. l Due to the difficulty in measuring the TCO it is often neglected in purchasing decisions.

Key factors in reducing TCO Standardization l Centralization l Automation l

Standardization Use a uniform platform, system configuration, and software packages l Standardize software installation options and settings l Y 2 K Date setting l

Standardization, continued Reducing the number of vendors lowers procurement cost, minimizes system integration and support costs, and reduces training requirements l Reduces downtime and troubleshooting time by providing a baseline to work from l

Centralization Reduces management cost by allowing the systems administrator to manage the network from one location l Set group policies to eliminate user tampering with system configuration and to increase security l

Centralization, continued l Set roaming profiles to increase productivity – Enable capability to swap computers l Proactively monitor the network for problems before they harm productivity.

Automation l Important to get updated virus definitions and to upgrade to latest virus engines l Not enough just to have anti-virus software Consistent settings in the workstations through login scripts l Reduce costs by cutting down time to roll out software l Saves money in the future by maintaining standardization l

Minimize Downtime Server Clustering l Organized Disaster Recovery Procedure l – Reduce time to restore a system from backup in the event of hard drive crash

Minimize Communication Costs l Virtual Private Network (VPN) – is a private data network that instead of dedicated lines uses the Internet to establish secure tunneling between computers – WAN – Outside sales – Traveling Executives

Virtual Private Network

VPN Cost Comparison Table l l Dedicated 56 k line Rohnert Park to Herndon, VA $1200/month used to connect to remote office l l l VPN DSL 384 k Six times faster $500/month used to connect to Internet. Connect outside sales and traveling executives Savings – at least $800/month

Citrix Win. Frame Remote Terminal Server supporting low speed connections l Allows multiple people to use a single Windows NT Server simultaneously l Reduces the need for expensive fast lines l

Summary Support l Maintenance l Infrastructure l Improve service and support l – Standardization – Centralization – Automation

AM Computers l Our goal is to help you reduce your TCO – recycle capital investment in equipment We help you plan l We have developed automation techniques for all major anti-virus software on the market l We have developed centralization methods for many desktop applications such as Outlook, Netscape, and Auto. CAD l

AM Computers l We are an Internet Service Provider. – You will benefit from our inside knowledge of both the telecom and the computing sides of WAN, VPN, and Internet services

Reducing TCO Copyright 1998 by AM Computers 1040 -B N. Dutton Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 1 -800 -579 -2018 (707) 579 -2010 http: //am. net