I am writing an RFP for a new intranet on behalf of a client. It has already been decided that it shall be based on Microsoft SharePoint, but whether it will be SharePoint 2013 On premise or Online is still an open question. Most things point to Online, but we want the vendors that receive and answer the RFP to give us a fair comparison of the total cost of ownership of both alternatives so that my client can make an informed decision about which alternative to go for.
My client has no plans for customization other than branding with style sheets and creating a few publishing sites. They also want a responsive website that allows mobile access to the newsfeed, Yammer for social networking, mobile access with two-factor authentication and make it easy for external users to access dedicated parts of the intranet.
The cost of SharePoint Online is quite easy to calculate (in this case for 1000 seats), but for SharePoint 2013 On premise many costs are more “hidden” and sometimes forgotten or neglected, such as:
– Maintenance (including upgrades, backups..)
– Support
– Hardware
– Additional licenses and hardware costs for enabling access by external users and two-factor authentication
– etc…
Does anyone have any good example to share on how to compare TCO for SharePoint 2013 On premise vs Online? Perhaps you also have a real world example with real figures to share?
