Total Cost of Ownership Comparison
PointClickCare Pay-As-You-Go Internet Subscription Service allows organizations to lower their total system costs up to 80%. When comparing the total cost of different systems, it is important that the online subscription service fee is compared to the total cost of conventional software, not simply the license fee. With PointClickCare, there are none of the "hidden costs" associated with traditional software. That's just another reason why PointClickCare is the best choice for your LTC needs.
No Hidden Costs.
Total Cost of Ownership FAQ's
We have already invested in client/server software and the supporting hardware. Can we still lower our TCO?
Yes. Even if you have already purchased client/server software and the supporting infrastructure, PointClickCare is still more cost effective. There are many ongoing costs associated with maintaining infrastructure, including servers, DBMS, ongoing data management, back ups, and higher end client computers. In most cases, PointClickCare subscription fees are roughly equivalent to just the maintenance fees of client/server software solutions. After the balance of the required expenditures is factored into the total cost, PointClickCare is less than the ongoing costs of client/server.
Couldn't we host PointClickCare for less?
No. Hosting only accounts for about 25% of the annual subscription fee. In the example above, this would amount to about $2,500/year. Even if you already have a server, consider the additional costs of IT personnel/consulting time to manage the system, keep it up and running, do backups, keep the hardware and other infrastructure current and manage security. The bottom line - even if you have the hardware to host internally, the PointClickCare subscription service is still more cost effective.
We spend very little for our current LTC system. How can PointClickCare cost less for us?
This is really a question of value. If value is defined as the difference between the benefit you receive and what you pay for that benefit, then you need to ask yourself - How much benefit are you really getting from this "free" system? What are the opportunity costs of maintaining this free system? What is the cost of user frustration, hassles and downtime? Is this system really free?
We need a network for other applications anyway. Will we see much of an impact on our TCO?
Yes. Typically, the most demanding application on the network is the LTC Information System, requiring the most resources and "heavier" hardware. Even when compared to just the incremental costs of maintaining this heavier infrastructure and managing the application, the PointClickCare subscription service proves more cost effective. In addition, implementation of traditional clinical applications can account for the majority of client computers (workstations) and client/server software requires reasonably powerful machines for this purpose. PointClickCare requires only, low-end, web-enabled, commodity client computers.
How is it possible to offer PointClickCare at such a low cost?
PointClickCare was built as a native web product and doesn't require third party products or substantial bandwidth to be deployed over the Internet. The hosting infrastructure is a multi-tenant system, housing the system of many companies, which drastically lowers total processing costs. In addition, since PointClickCare is already up and running, many of the typical installation and implementation costs are avoided. As a purely browser based application, client hardware only needs to be capable of running an Internet browser, so providers can extend the life of their older computers or purchase low-end, commodity computers. The simple and intuitive web-design drastically reduces the amount of training required and new clinical staff can learn the system in minutes, with no technical administration required.
How does the Total Cost of Ownership Compare to software products offered through Application Service Provider (ASP)?
Many Long Term Care software suppliers today are making tentative steps to become application service providers (ASP's) - generally by web-enabling their conventional software to allow it to be accessed over the Internet and run in a browser. In most cases, however, the main revenue stream for the vendor - and cost stream for the LTC Provider - continues to be software licensing, with web hosting seen as a lucrative sideline. These web-enabled versions of conventional software applications provide some savings: cost structures can be up to 20% lower than conventional licensing arrangements. But since these applications are not ideally tuned for the Internet, they still require very significant resources in the form of bandwidth and dedicated servers, are still rigid in their design, hard to use and provide for very limited scalability. By contrast, Wescom Solution’s PointClickCare is one of the first products to offer a true "built for the Web" solution, based on a new information technology distribution model.
Is it possible to find very low cost LTC software?
Yes. As with any product there are low-end, low cost options available and with most of these options, you "get what you pay for." Low cost products are available for a number of reasons: Product life cycle - the product may have come to the end of its life cycle and the vendor has reduced the price in order to extend the product revenue cycle. The product may be based on low-end or desktop database technology and products of this nature can come with a whole host of problems. Even if looking from a cost perspective only - there are real costs associated with frustration, downtime, extensive training, poor performance and the need to replace in the short-term. Looking at it from another perspective, what benefit is received from the "cheap" option? The basic pricing for traditional client/server software used in the comparison above assumes a quality application that uses appropriate technology and is capable of delivering enterprise class functionality. The reason that PointClickCare can lower your cost dramatically is not because it has compromised quality - but rather because it embraces state of the art technology that dramatically reduces the cost of delivery over traditional client/server offerings.