Tco Moodlerooms Read Me First User Guide - Total Cost Of Ownership Moodle .docx

Moodlerooms TCO calculator Moodlerooms SaaS for a better Moodle experience

Important note! This Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) calculator is intended to guide your discovery questions and associated costs conversation with customers. Provides a simple framework for comparing the Moodlerooms Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model with the traditional on-premises model for Moodle Self-Hosted. Due to the highly variable components of a TCO calculation from case to case and particularly nature sensitive of the labor cost component in different regions, this tool should not be taken as an exhaustive list or distributed as is without prior preparation. There are spaces within each section of the TCO spreadsheet to add other costs as required. Considering this, please follow the recommendations below to make the most of this tool:   

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Don’t send this tool to the prospect, instead, use this to guide the discussions or as a presentation resource controlled by you. Work with the customer to obtain or estimate the data of their in-house infrastructure directly or indirectly. Don’t expect the prospect to fill the data. This guide won’t provide a reference to any of the costs involved, such as hardware or labor costs. This is due to differences in costs from market to market and even in separate opportunities in the same market. Check the results of your calculations before sharing it with the prospect. You don’t want to show a result that doesn’t add to your case. Don’t work alone! If possible, work with the Solution Engineering team to move forward the opportunity and accelerate the outcomes of it.

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Introduction The Moodlerooms TCO calculator is composed by the following elements: 1. 2.

3.

This introduction file, which contains an overview and guide of how to use the calculator spreadsheet. An excel spreadsheet, which is the calculator itself and can compare the cumulative costs of both Moodlerooms SaaS and self-hosted Moodle options. This document provides a guide of each of the sections in the calculator A template PPT to present the results of the TCO calculations to a prospect audience.

How to use the TCO calculator (excel sheet) The excel sheet for the TCO calculator provides sales teams with a framework for comparing the Moodlerooms Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) delivery model with the traditional on-premises model for Moodle Self-Hosted. The sheet is composed by 3 tabs:   

Instructions, which provide context and general usage recommendations for the file. TCO calculator, which is the tab in which you should fill the data to compare the solution alternatives. TCO Graph that provides a graphical comparison of the two solution models in terms of cumulative costs.

Although the calculator can show differences in costs, it is critical to mention that the conversation with the prospect should not be only about money. The calculator helps to make some of the benefits from Moodlerooms SaaS more tangible, and so, the key aspect of this initiative is to be able to communicate the value that Moodlerooms create and how that can translate in real cost efficiencies, not the make the conversation just about the actual numbers. The following steps provide a guide on the usual process to use the calculator:

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Step #1 – Obtaining information To fill the data on the calculator, you first need to understand the context, plans and characteristics of the two alternatives to be compared. That is to say, you need to obtain as much information as possible from the prospect in regard of their initiative. Good news is that this process is no different from the Blackboard discovery process for sales opportunities and so, you probably already have a lot of information to start working on an estimate. The following questions can be used as a reference to lead the conversation towards obtaining the information you need and can also create initial awareness of challenges that the prospect may not know:             

How many active users are you planning to have? What type of infrastructure do you have to deploy other applications in the organization? What kind of infrastructure do you typically purchase for other initiatives? (Physical servers, virtual servers, Cloud Computing) Is there a team assigned full time to the e-learning initiative? Does a “technology for education/training” area exists in your organization? What are the critical success factors for your project? What are the key performance indicators of your initiative? What is the evolution roadmap for the project in terms of usage? Which team is directly responsible for this initiative? Is there a team dedicated to information security that can work on the initiative full time? What kind of service continuity measures do you typically deploy for other applications? How do you guarantee service availability for other applications? How do you handle data backups in other applications in your organization? (Frequency, storage mechanisms, etc.)

Step #2 – Making sense of the gathered information Now that you the have information, it’s time to make sure that you translate that into something you can work with. The following components provide a reference that you can use:

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Short and long term usage: Based on how many users they will have at the start of the project and what are their projections, you can match the respective Moodlerooms user plan and estimate equivalent infrastructure. Availability and continuity: Even if the response from the customers indicate that they don’t have something to address this issues or that they don’t care about it, you have an opportunity to focus on these elements as a differentiator that won’t break the bank. Key performance indicators and project success factors: Providing great learning experiences, improving training results, saving time, creating additional value to learners. Most of the prospect’s goals can be translated into the importance of providing a reliable platform experience, and that requires investment to make sure that it is available, fast, secure, etc. This can add to build the story about the required investments in terms of infrastructure/staff for the self-hosted alternative and how Moodlerooms provides all of this to the organization without any complexities. Knowhow, staffing: The information gathered around the e-learning, IT administration, information security and other teams can be used to populate the Self-Hosted part of the excel sheet with salaries and staffing costs that are not required with the Moodlerooms SaaS solution.

Step #3– Filling the “TCO calculator” tab Please consider the following before starting to fill the information for the calculator: 

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Due to the highly subjective nature of a TCO calculation, the rows or topics covered should not be taken as an exhaustive list. There are spaces within each section of the TCO spreadsheet to add other costs as required. In the same way, please feel free to remove the elements you consider are not relevant for your opportunity. This calculator can be used for physical hardware, virtual servers or cloud computing. Just make sure you translate the costs and change the names of the costs accordingly. This was said before, but please do and check the calculations yourself before showing them to the prospect to avoid any possible complications. Try to consider (and make evident to the prospect) all the hidden labor, maintenance or opportunity costs involved in the operation they’re evaluating as an alternative to Moodlerooms. Even if the prospect says there is no “real cost”, an opportunity cost can be quantified.

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The information should be filled for each year of operation that you want to compare. In multiyear comparison, you should consider prospect’s planned growth in terms of users. You should also make sure you fill the data of recurrent and special hardware upgrade / maintenance costs for the self-hosted option.

The out-of-the-box version of the calculator contains the following cost categories and elements:

Software The capital expenditure of software licenses in the case of additional software needed on Moodle Self-Hosted alternative and the operating expenditure of subscription fees in the case of Moodlerooms SaaS (The Moodlerooms user band plan). Concept License/Subscription Fees

Moodlerooms SaaS Moodlerooms user plan according to price list

Self-Hosted Any licenses required to operate their hosting project. E.g. Oracle database licenses, MS server licenses, etc.

Hardware/Infrastructure Costs associated with the necessary hardware and infrastructure to host Moodle inhouse. Both traditional in-house hardware solutions and Cloud based infrastructure can be compared in the calculator to match the prospect IT context. In some cases, the organization may have to hire staff to cover the specified tasks, but in some others, those tasks are performed by external providers or other internal teams, for which the opportunity costs should be quantified. Even if the prospect has internal staff to cover these tasks, proper labor costs should be considered and it is recommended to leave all the unused cost concepts in the table to create awareness off the things covered by Moodlerooms SaaS. Concept

Moodlerooms SaaS

Self-Hosted

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Production servers

Included in SaaS

Test/Sandbox servers

Included in SaaS

Service continuity / availability measures

Included in SaaS

Infrastructure architecture

Included in SaaS

Network

Included in SaaS

Backups and secure storage

Included in SaaS

Infrastructure security measures

Included in SaaS

All the hardware or cloud components required to create the Moodle hosting environment. This should consider application servers, database servers and application storage units. Moodlerooms SaaS includes a test environment as part of the service, so, how much would it take for the prospect to have a similar environment in their own infrastructure? Physical and virtual redundant servers and measures to keep the service available in conditions in which the main infrastructure fails. The planning and architecture work to fine tune the performance of the application in the hosting environment. Can the prospect infrastructure scale? Adapt to high traffic? All the network elements required to provide the self-hosted Moodle service. Magnetic disks, cloud storage services and other solutions to save the LMS data for the long term. This is mandatory in some countries. Firewalls and defense in depth mechanisms to

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Infrastructure maintenance / staff

Included in SaaS

assure security and integrity of the data. The costs associated to maintain and/or operate the deployed infrastructure components. This can be an internal labor cost or a provider cost different from the items mentioned before.

Administration costs Costs related to the LMS operation in the organization. Moodlerooms provides multiple efficiency gains via unique capabilities such as Conduit, PLD and other integrations. It is important to calculate the opportunity cost /efficiency loss cost of not having these features; whether it be via specific costs of tasks or by additional load to the admin staff. Concept Administration staff

Course replication tasks

Moodlerooms SaaS Labor costs related to platform administration. Although also present in Moodlerooms, administration staff costs can be reduced if by using Moodlerooms’ unique capabilities. The organization can automate most of their operative tasks. In this case, less people would be needed or they can focus on strategic work. There are also cases in which the organization outsources these type of tasks. Moodlerooms conduit can automate this task.

Self-Hosted Labor costs related to platform administration.

Measurable or opportunity costs related to the time

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devoted to manually replicate semester or training period courses and sections. Data integration

Reporting

Moodlerooms conduit / office 365 integration / Google apps integration / LDAP and other integrations (Some integrations may require a fee) Moodlerooms reports, XRay Learning Analytics or Intelliboard (Some components require a fee)

Measurable or opportunity costs related to integrate the platform to other information systems.

Measurable or opportunity costs related to having to make sense of the course data manually.

Implementation Cost associated with the implementation of the application. These usually include development (customization and integration), testing, training, and consulting. Concept Branding

Training

Moodlerooms SaaS Moodlerooms Brandmatch service. It is important to note that the branding service includes a maintenance fee and that it assures that the theme will keep working after upgrades, something that some other providers or Moodle freelancers can’t guarantee. Moodlerooms training packages.

Self-Hosted Design costs and implementation costs for a custom branded Moodle theme.

Costs associated with training, that can be from from our solutions or third party providers.

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Consulting

Custom development, strategic services or other consulting services.

Custom development, strategic services or other consulting services that can be from our solutions or third party providers.

Software maintenance Cost of upgrading, administering Moodle and making sure that key components of the solution and customizations work with each upgrade. This is usually one of the biggest pain points of self-hosted Moodle prospects. They can deploy a platform, customize it and even develop features for it, but on the longer term, without the proper practices, they’ll find themselves in a position in which they won’t be able to upgrade the platform and need to stay in an older version. In some cases, the organization may have to hire staff to cover the specified tasks below, but in some others, those tasks are executed by external providers or other internal teams, for which the opportunity costs should be quantified. Even if the prospect has internal staff to cover these tasks, proper labor costs should be considered and it is recommended to leave all the unused cost concepts in the table to create awareness off the things covered by Moodlerooms SaaS. Concept Dedicated personnel

Moodlerooms SaaS Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Update integration tasks

Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Quality assurance tasks

Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Self-Hosted Labor costs associated with the software maintenance tasks described in this table. Some organizations have dedicated personnel and others may outsource it. Measurable or opportunity costs related to prepare and test an upgrade of the base platform to the most recent version. Measurable or opportunity costs related to make sure

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Branding upgrade

Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Moodle version Update process

Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Code customizations upgrade

Included in Moodlerooms SaaS for elements including in the plugin matrix. Brandmatch customizations and special customizations may require a maintenance fee. Included in Moodlerooms SaaS

Security patching

that the developed / integrated code complies with good practices that ensure its compatibility and long term operation. Measurable or opportunity costs related to upgrade the Moodle theme customizations. Measurable or opportunity costs related to the actual update process: Maintenance window, rollback measures, etc. Measurable or opportunity costs related to make sure that the developed customizations and plugins work in the upgrade target version Measurable or opportunity costs related to keep the platform up to date in the security patches area.

Support The support staff labor hours and costs, training labor and fees, support contracts and management overhead. It is important to make clear the value that Moodlerooms offer in terms of expert support. Our support team has the knowledge and experience from years of service to a community of educators, institutions and organizations. This should be estimated accordingly on the Self-Hosted side to match the labor costs of similarly skilled professionals. Concept

Moodlerooms SaaS

Self-Hosted

End user Support

Costs associated to provide help to learners and

Costs associated to provide help to learners and

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Helpdesk Support

Training

teachers. This is typically handled by the organization. 24/7 support included in SaaS.

Moodlerooms support team is always trained in the latest best practices and the most recent version of the platform

teachers. This is typically handled by the organization. Costs of having 24/7 Moodle professionals providing support to platform administrators. Training costs associated with keeping support teams up to date in terms of best practices and Moodle version updates.

Step #4– Checking the results After filling the TCO calculator data, the next step is to check the results that the tool provides to make sure it supports the story you want to tell to your prospect. In the TCO calculator tab you can find an area that describes the annual costs and cumulative costs, this should be the first point to validate that the calculations were executed as expected.

The TCO graph tab shows a graphical comparison of the cumulative costs of each solution alternative. You want to make sure that the Moodlerooms line is below the Selfhosted line.

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Step #5– Use and share the results The last step is to use the results from the calculator to advance in the discussion with your prospect. Although you can use the spreadsheet alone to support your case, it is highly recommended that you share it as part of a presentation in which you can explain your key findings, position our solution and resolve any questions or objections you may find. You can use the provided TCO presentation template or the full Moodlerooms sales deck to do this.

F.A.Q. Where can I get information about hardware costs? There are multiple resources available in Internet to fit your particular needs. The important thing to consider at first is the target user band and current hardware practices from the prospect. E.g. Are they hardware buyers or Cloud infrastructure services customers? Also, be sure to check the following resources: https://aws.amazon.com/es/blogs/aws/estimate-your-c/

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http://www.thecloudcalculator.com/calculators/cloud-build-vs-buy.html http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/feature/Computing-with-a-price-tagVM-cost-calculation-guide https://azure.microsoft.com/en-us/pricing/calculator/ https://www.rackspace.com/calculator

Can I use this tool with a prospect that is thinking to move to a Cloud solution with other provider? Yes! You can this tool to estimate costs on cloud infrastructure. Make sure you change the names accordingly and focus on the unique elements that Moodlerooms provide that others cloud providers can: Expert support, years of knowhow, fine-tuned Moodlefocused architecture, monitoring, best practices, etc.

My sponsor is part of the IT department and we’re very close, can I handle this tool to him so he can fill it himself? No! It’s always recommended that you use this tool yourself and then help the prospect to make sense of the results and understand our value proposition. In cases like these, use your proximity to the prospect to obtain as much detailed information as you can to use the tool better.

Where can I get the prices for Moodlerooms items to fill the calculator data? Prices for standard components of the Moodlerooms solution, such as the SaaS platform, Brandmatch and training, can be found on the price list file available in the Sales Center. Special components, such as consulting services, customizations or development may require a separate estimation that can be done with the help of the Solutions Engineering team.

Where can I get more help, provide feedback or make suggestions about this tool? We’re happy to help! Please contact us at [email protected]

For more information, email us at [email protected] or visit moodlerooms.com