Vendor pricing policies and packaging largely determine the impact of upgrades. When acquiring a system, one of the factors that should be included is the cost of upgrading components at various levels of growth. Factors analyzed should include separate estimates for memory, disk capacity, work station attachments, communications facilities, etc. Both hardware and peripherals maintenance should be priced. Hardware maintenance can be a major on-going cost.
Rapid escalation is a risk that can be managed.
Selecting the level of maintenance and the source can cause recurring costs to vary significantly. When considering maintenance, the quality, consistency of response, and escalation procedures must be considered. Software Development and Integration. The costs of operating and supporting the system and application programs will generally be the largest single category of cost in any TCO calculation. Finally, the cost of operating the new system must be factored in.