The blog of Lecorpio has post on Jan. 1, 2011 that talks about the hidden costs of software, those costs a law department incurs over and above the license fee. As backup they refer to but do not cite to a government study. “The U.S. Department of Commerce study shows that software purchase expenditures account for only approximately 30 percent of the total. The biggest hidden cost is represented by labor expenditures ranging from 37 percent for support and 33 percent related to software getting the software up and running. The numbers translate to a ratio of 1:2, software license to management/labor costs; and 1:1 license fee to implementation.”
The original text comes from a 2003 paper by Tim Chou. On page 2 Chou writes “In addressing total software related spending, JP Morgan Chase technology analyst Chuck Phillips cites a recent U.S. Department of Commerce study” and the exact quote of Lecorpio follows.
I don’t doubt that the total cost of software for a law department goes far beyond the initial license fee. Still, to cite a study done at least eight years before, years during which the bee hive of software has been buzzing furiously, leaves me wondering about the old research’s current accuracy.