Selection Criteria and Total Cost of Ownership

This chapter focuses on selection criteria for servers, and furthermore discusses key economic elements of server choice that includes system's total cost of ownership. The choice of appropriate selection criteria for servers is driven by user's requirement that includes: availability of applications and development tools, data integrity and availability, performance, scalability, price, and client/server support. It is important to take as many precautions as possible when making a choice and to be aware about the appearance of technological discontinuities. The usefulness of technology watch is extremely significant. Adopting the total cost of ownership (TCO) methodology enables companies to analyze the different components of cost, measure them, and perform appropriate simulations resulting in reduced costs. Any detailed cost analysis usually covers all the associated costs that include: everything from the server and its peripheral subsystems to the workstations and the network. Implementing the methodology, identifying the elements of cost, and then analyzing the possible remedies in an ongoing business; thus, leads to the development of most tangible results.