This chapter contains ideas on calculating real-world TCO for the presented solutions; however, differences in customer environments, skill sets, and related services will drive differences in TCO analyses. Furthermore, the supported business outcomes, and especially the automation level of the compared offerings, vary. You will need to conduct an analysis tailored to your own environment to develop TCO numbers consistent with your environment. Finally, the analysis presented in this paper is designed to raise awareness about how to evaluate solutions. The analysis is not about proving which solution is the best for specific circumstances. Each solution covered in this analysis has its own proven merits.
We will discuss VMware pricing and licensing in the next chapter. We will cover the subscription terms offered for Dedicated Cloud, Virtual Private Cloud, and Disaster Recovery, as well as answer the question What are Advanced Networking Services? and explain how to buy them.