Comparing costs and management fairly

Module 8: Backups, exit and management · Reading time: 10 minutes

Learning objective: After this lesson, you can fairly compare the total cost and management of your old and new setup, side by side, without looking only at the price per user, and record who does which management task.

Key concepts: total cost of ownership (TCO), one-off and recurring costs, licence per user, storage, add-ons, migration costs, training, your own time, managed service, self-hosting, management tasks, who does what (RACI), price stability, scalability

The wrong comparison

The first question almost everyone asks is: "What does it cost per user per month?" You set that figure next to your current licence, and that's it. That's the wrong comparison, for two reasons.

First, you're not comparing like for like. One provider's package includes mail, files, office and chat; with another, office is a separate licence, mail is in a different package, and extra storage costs more. Second, you leave out everything that isn't on an invoice: your own time and that of your colleagues, training, management, and the migration itself.

In this lesson, we don't use prices from real providers. Those change, and it's the method that matters. You fill in the amounts yourself, using quotes and price lists that you request at the time.

Total cost: everything in one place

By total cost (total cost of ownership, TCO) we mean all costs over a fixed period, for example three years, including one-off costs. A three-year period is useful because it gives one-off migration costs a fair weighting.

The most important box is the one most often forgotten: your own time. Calculate it by multiplying the number of hours by a fixed hourly rate that you choose yourself. Even if nobody invoices it, it still costs you something.

A worked example without real prices

At Bakkerij De Korrel, Ruud works with variables so the example holds true for everyone:

• G = number of users (12)
• L = licence per user per month, including office where needed
• O = extra storage per month
• B = external backup per month
• U = hours of own management per month, T = the hourly rate the bakery charges for its own time
• M = one-off migration costs (help plus own hours x T)
• D = overlapping period: months during which old and new are paid for at the same time, times the old monthly cost
• Op = training (hours x number of colleagues x T)

Total cost over 36 months:

TCO = 36 x (G x L + O + B + U x T) + M + D + Op

He does this sum twice: once for "staying put" and once for "switching". For "staying put", M, D and Op are zero, but he does factor in the price increases the old provider has announced, and the time currently lost to shared passwords and misplaced files.

The outcome isn't "the cheapest wins". It's a figure that lets you have an honest conversation: switching costs this much once, and then this much more or less per month, in exchange for more control and less dependency (module 1). Sometimes European is more expensive, sometimes cheaper. Either outcome is a good reason to make a deliberate choice.

Managed service or self-hosting?

With European, open software (Nextcloud, Matrix, Jitsi) you can also self-host: set up the software on your own server or a rented server. That looks cheap, because the software is free. Work it out fairly:

For an organisation of twelve people without its own IT expertise, self-hosting is usually a risk, not a saving. A server that goes months without updates is less safe than a well-managed service. For an organisation with its own administrators, it can be the best choice.

Assigning management: who does what?

Even with a managed service, there's still work left over. Record who does what, with a simple division: who carries it out, who is accountable, who is consulted, and who is informed (often called RACI, after the English terms).

A task with no name doesn't happen. A task with just one name doesn't happen if that person is ill. So assign a backup person for the most important tasks too.

What else to watch for when comparing

• Price stability: how often and how much can the price change, and do you have a right to cancel if it does?
• Scalability: what happens at 15 or 25 users, or with twice as much storage? Do you end up in a different package?
• What's really included: support in your language, backups you can actually restore something from, a data processing agreement, export options.
• Trial period: can you run a pilot first with a few colleagues (lesson 3.3)?

In practice: what this looks like with a provider

With a WebOké Nextcloud, there are packages that differ in number of users and storage, Office licences per user, and the option to expand storage or users in My WebOké. WebOké handles updates, security and system backups; the package owner starts a new major version themselves, with a single button. User management, licences and restore tests remain with the customer. Prices are deliberately left out of this course.

With other providers, the division is different. So fill in the "who does what" table separately for each provider, and include it in your comparison.

Summary

• Compare total cost over a fixed period, not just the price per user.
• Count one-off costs (migration, overlapping period, training) and, above all, your own time.
• Self-hosting is software without a licence, but with work attached: cost that fairly.
• Record management tasks with a name and a backup person.
• Watch for price stability, scalability, and what's actually included in the package.

Quiz

Exercise

Exercise E8.3: Cost template and management split. Fill in the cost template in OPDRACHTEN.md for "staying put" and "switching", with amounts from quotes or price lists that you request yourself, over 36 months. Then fill in the "who does what" table with names and backup people.

Further reading

The steps in these articles apply to WebOké's services; with other providers, it works in a similar way.

• Nextcloud manual 1.4: Nextcloud Free, Personal, Family and Max: differences and switching
• Nextcloud manual 14.4: More storage or users, changing or cancelling your package
• Nextcloud manual 14.6: Nextcloud updates: when and how
• Nextcloud manual 14.7: Permissions: who manages what in your Nextcloud?
• Which Nextcloud package suits me and how do I upgrade?