But this kind of analysis is much too primitive. It limits our vision. We need to take a more holistic approach. We need to know how the system we design will impact the cost of doing business. In order to do this, we need to know both the cost of the system and the cost of using the system.
Every installation is run with a different set of metrics.
Cost assumptions will change based on the size and type of network, the work processes for which the network is being designed, the resources allocated to network operations and the culture of the end user enterprise. In the second place, some cost items are very hard to measure. Shared costs can disappear because they are charged elsewhere. And there are no time card line items for peer support or the personal use of network resources. Yet, in order to make a reasonably accurate analysis of network costs and the cost of using the network, we will have to deal with these challenges.