Consider the Committed or “Dual-Run” Costs

One factor in UC ROI that is often overlooked is committed costs. These costs can also be referred to as dual-running costs. In most scenarios, an organization cannot simply turn off a legacy system and immediately stop paying for it. Not only is there a transition period between systems, but there are often committed costs that are associated with a contract or lease. These committed costs can be attributed to hardware leases, as well as support and service contracts. Many organizations will also choose to amortize capital investments over any number of years. Hardware investments must be depreciated before they can leave the books. Organizations typically have the following committed costs when deploying a new UC solution:

• Investment Depreciation—Many organizations depreciate hardware over five years in order to spread out that capital investment.

• Hardware Lease Costs—Some organizations lease PBX hardware and PBX endpoints instead of purchasing them. These can have committed lease periods.

• Dual-Running Solutions—Costs to run legacy equipment, for example, if migrating off one UC solution to another.

• Support Contracts—Support contracts typically include a multiyear agreement between the organization and the support provider.

Before realizing return on investment, these costs must be accounted for.

In summary, a UC solution is not purely cost savings. There will always be a significant investment to successfully deploy UC. However, the benefits of a true UC solution lead to a rapid ROI, which ultimately makes UC worth the investment.