How do you calulcate the net value of TCO (forgive me, but I am an IT person!)? Would TCO be listed among the risks or included as part of the implementation costs of a CRM project?
You don't have to be a finance person to get your hands around TCO. Total cost of ownership is the total investment associated with the project over a given period of time. To help keep things straightforward, Nucleus looks at six categories of cost when measuring a project: software, hardware, personnel, training, consulting, and other. Total cost of ownership, in your example, would be the implementation costs associated with an IT project. For more details on the different financial metrics, you can visit the knowledge center at the Nucleus Research Web site (www.NucleusResearch.com)
This was first published in December 2004