The Fundamentals of Calculating TCO

Calculating total cost of ownership (TCO) can be challenging, but lowering TCO may actually be easier than you think when you know the true TCO. This may sound like a paradox, but it is the framework for how to calculate TCO that is the measuring stick for how efficiently and expeditiously you can reduce costs of your data infrastructure for storage.

I want to offer up four guiding principles for conceptualizing a framework you can use to figure out your true TCO. Then you’ll know the right questions to ask and be better able to evaluate and apply the results of a TCO assessment.

The calculation of TCO for enterprise-class storage involves interrelated dynamics between price, performance and true capacity. Assessing storage costs cannot be done in a vacuum. The TCO of your storage capabilities and capacity may be adversely affected by unnecessary waste and inefficiency. It must be examined holistically.

• The first guiding principle is to look at price per effective TB across hardware, software and services.
• Next, you want to determine the value of software features that are supported by the array. The range can be broad, including capacity / performance monitoring software, snapshots, replication, and third-party integration, such as VMware, among other things.
• The third guiding principle is to measure the ease of use by the number of storage full-time equivalents (FTEs). There is indeed a value to ease of use, and it should be factored into the organization’s TCO.
• And finally it’s important to measure internal environmental costs, such as floor space, cooling, and power consumption. These costs grow as data grows, so the only way to reduce them is to consolidate and improve efficiency.

All of this information may seem quite extensive and time-consuming to manage, but, fortunately, you don’t have to do the TCO assessment alone. Infinidat offers a Free Performance Analysis and TCO Assessment.

We will run your workload against the InfiniBox® platform and show you the difference using a structured form that can be assimilated into your standard methods of reporting. We’ll provide you with options on how you can save money. Then you decide. The insights from the TCO assessment may be valuable to you. Rest assured that there is no cost to you and no obligation.

Click here to register for your free TCO assessment.