Pamela Bluh has self-archived her presentation "TCO and ROI: Assessing and Evaluating an Institutional Repository," which was given at the at the American Association of Law Libraries 2009, in DigitalCommons@UM Law ("TCO" means Total Cost of Ownership and "ROI" means Return on Investment).
Here's an excerpt:
On the surface, a TCO analysis would seem to be a fairly straightforward process. After all, isn't it just a matter of getting prices for hardware and software and determining the cost of staffing? While TCO can be used to determine the financial implications associated with the implementation of an IR and, at a minimum, should examine the direct cost of hardware and software and of personnel it should also take into consideration the indirect or "hidden" costs for ongoing operations such as training, system upgrades, licenses, technical support, and loss of accessibility due to system downtime. While not specifically part of TCO, a thorough analysis should also take into account intangibles such as the complexity of the implementation, the timely delivery of the product, and the availability of an effective exit strategy or a clearly delineated migration path for software and hardware upgrades.
