When deciding whether how to acquire an IT technology, it is useful to look at t

Question

When deciding whether how to acquire an IT technology, it is useful to look at the total cost of ownership.

a. Research the topic of total cost of ownership with respect to acquiring IT for a corporation: a software application that will require supporting hardware. Be sure to include citations to the sources that you use in your answer.
Consider three alternatives:
i. the local build option, buying hardware and custom development of the necessary software (either in-house or contract);

ii. commercial-off-the-shelf solution, buying hardware and a commercial application; or

iii. subscribing to a Cloud service. Identify the factors in each scenario that must be considered as part of the total cost of ownership, both initial and on-going costs, and direct and indirect costs.

b. Other than total cost of ownership, what other factors do you think must be considered when deciding between the three options above?

Explanation / Answer

The final decision whether to go for In-house development or to buy an existing commercial application with appropriate hardware or to subscribe a cloud service is dependent on three basic factors.

1) What type of software your company needs and what is the total number of intended users? (Scalability)

2) How critical your data is? (Security)

3) What is your company’s budget plan? (Cost)

Each model has its pros and cons but the best now days many people are moving to is a subscription of cloud services. After all you are not required to reinvent the wheels. Big giants like Oracle, Microsoft and Amazon has already have number of customized solutions available on cloud which are ready to use. It is fast and cost friendly too.

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