Transcript Training

Reducing Total Cost of
Ownership (TCO)
Mike Chon
AM Computers
What you will learn

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)
 Live demonstration of Citrix WinFrame
over the Internet
 Proactive monitoring of PCs with Intel
LanDesk

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.
 Statistics puts the Total Cost of Ownership
in business computing in a range between
$7k-$13k per computer per year.

TCO and its seven factors
Hardware Acquisition
 Software Acquisition
 Installation
 Training
 Support
 Maintenance
 Infrastructure

17%
7%
4%
7%
21%
7%
36%
What is TCO, continued

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.

Due to the difficulty in measuring the TCO
it is often neglected in purchasing decisions.
Key factors in reducing TCO
Standardization
 Centralization
 Automation

Standardization
Use a uniform platform, system
configuration, and software packages
 Standardize software installation options
and settings
 Y2K Date setting

Standardization, continued
Reducing the number of vendors lowers
procurement cost, minimizes system
integration and support costs, and reduces
training requirements
 Reduces downtime and troubleshooting
time by providing a baseline to work from

Centralization
Reduces management cost by allowing the
systems administrator to manage the
network from one location
 Set group policies to eliminate user
tampering with system configuration and to
increase security

Centralization, continued

Set roaming profiles to increase
productivity
– Enable capability to swap computers

Proactively monitor the network for
problems before they harm productivity.
Automation

Important to get updated virus definitions
and to upgrade to latest virus engines

Not enough just to have anti-virus software
Consistent settings in the workstations
through login scripts
 Reduce costs by cutting down time to roll
out software
 Saves money in the future by maintaining
standardization

Minimize Downtime
Server Clustering
 Organized Disaster Recovery Procedure

– Reduce time to restore a system from backup in
the event of hard drive crash
Minimize Communication
Costs

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




Dedicated 56k line
Rohnert Park to
Herndon, VA
$1200/month
used to connect to
remote office





VPN DSL 384k
Six times faster
$500/month
used to connect to
Internet. Connect
outside sales and
traveling executives
Savings
– at least $800/month
Citrix WinFrame
Remote Terminal Server supporting low
speed connections
 Allows multiple people to use a single
Windows NT Server simultaneously
 Reduces the need for expensive fast lines

Summary
Support
 Maintenance
 Infrastructure
 Improve service and support

– Standardization
– Centralization
– Automation
AM Computers

Our goal is to help you reduce your TCO
– recycle capital investment in equipment
We help you plan
 We have developed automation techniques
for all major anti-virus software on the
market
 We have developed centralization methods
for many desktop applications such as
Outlook, Netscape, and AutoCAD

AM Computers

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