Leading open source software (OSS) Business Intelligence (BI) suites are mature enough to be a feasible alternative to commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products. Enterprises investigating BI technology adoption should use OSS requirements for base case costing. This Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator is designed to aid decision makers in comparing the cost of an OSS BI suite to that of a COTS package. The tool includes the following components:
- Cost categories overview: An explanation of the major cost categories that should be included in the TCO analysis.
- Sample TCO information: A TCO chart describing a hypothetical BI implementation, based on case studies and industry estimates.
- TCO calculator: A spreadsheet that dynamically calculates total cost per category, total cost per year, and overall TCO for OSS and COTS BI packages.
- TCO comparison graph: A chart comparing the two TCOs over a five-year period.
These calculations apply to the adoption and implementation of BI software only. They do not account for data warehouse implementation, which involves factors beyond the scope of this tool.
This downloadable tool is associated with the research note, “Business Intelligence the Intelligent Way.”
