Business Intelligence Report: Computer Services Industry
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Business Intelligence Report: Computer Services Industry Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
Enquiry General Information on the industry e.g. any other services software companies offer or examples of service agreements. Installations How much do similar companies charge per day for configuring the servers and setting up the PC’s? In other words how much do they charge for setting up the network in the first place? If network cabling needs to be installed what rate per hour/day does this cost, excluding the price of materials. On-going support Level 1: Do other suppliers offer this type of package which only includes off site support within the service agreement? If so, how much do they charge? Presumably it is based on the number of PC’s and the type of file servers being supported. In this scenario how much do companies then charge for a call out? Is it normally based on distance or is it a flat rate for everybody? Once on Site how much do they charge per hour? Level 2: For this type of inclusive package which includes all call outs and time on site, how much would this normally cost? Again, this is presumably based on the number of PC’s and servers? Level 3: The last element is hardware maintenance. We are not offering a Disaster recovery service. If the customer’s premises burn to the ground we will not be replacing all of their computers free of charge. This is intended for day to day wear and tear. If a computer develops a fault we will loan them a machine while we arrange to get it repaired. We will cover the cost of the repair or will replace the machine free of charge if that is the cheaper option. For all of the above services do suppliers tend to offer one set of prices or do they offer different rates for different time scales. For example do they have one set of prices for a same day call out and then offer a cheaper alternative for 24 hour call out. Do they have one set of prices for a 5 day week compared to a 7 day week option? Bespoke software What would a typical small software company in the north east charge per day for designing and writing bespoke software? Once supplied, is it normally licensed per computer like we do with the NHS? Typically, what percentage is charged for the annual support? Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
Response
Obviously given the nature of the questions submitted surrounding price a lot of companies
do not publish their prices, or alternatively will create a bespoke price based on the nature
of the network they are setting up and the client they are servicing. They therefore ask you
to contact them for a quote, which we cannot offer as part of this service.
We were also unable to find examples of specific service agreements as these are normally
given at the time of sign up to a contract with a customer and are often subject to non-
disclosure. Generic service agreements can be found on websites such as the following,
where you can pay to download a template. An example of this is Contract Edge1.
There are websites that do provide some quotes for example Smart Tendering2, which is a
UK web site, allowing you to enter your company’s details and needs, they then send you
requirements to a set of companies and you are provided with a number of quotes based on
your requirements, they say that your details are not passed to the quoting companies. This
may or may not suit your needs for the purposes of researching competitor’s costs – it may
also be worth considering in terms of winning new business should you decide to take your
proposed diversification forward.
Quote Bean3 works on the same principle, offering you up to six quotes.
It is difficult to obtain information on what companies charge for network installation and
their hourly/daily rates, without contacting the companies directly. Again free quotes are
available from website like Quote Bean using their buying service4 or from Approved
Network Installations5.
Approved Index6, is a website aimed at making the process of business-to-business buying
and selling as simple, straightforward and cheap as possible. They have built up their
experience over the last 8 years and they offer the following advice when it comes to the
price of Network installation and cabling:
Network Installation Prices7
Whilst you can find a home network range for between £150 and £200, depending on
whether the network is wireless or not, for an office network, this price rises to above £250.
For this £250, which can include a £50 line activation charge and free broadband for the first
month, you can buy a multi-user network. The cost covers the internet connection, an ADSL
modem/router, ADSL microfilters, and one or two computers configured for web access,
with Cat 5e cables (patch leads or cabled to sockets).
1
http://www.contractedge.com/networkinstallationagreement.html
2
http://www.smarttendering.com/how-it-works.html
3
http://www.quotebean.co.uk/buying-services/software-developers/free-quotes/
4
http://www.quotebean.co.uk/buying-services/network-installation/
5
http://www.plus.approvednetworkinstallations.co.uk/UK/questionnaire7/uk-
companies.aspx?gclid=CMLx2tSIsrECFYwhtAod1QQAVw
6
http://www.approvedindex.co.uk/
7
http://www.approvedindex.co.uk/a/networkinstallation/network-installation-prices/
Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile
businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on
billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350The price of an office broadband wireless network is around £300. The price includes all of the features in the office network installation above, and also allows up to 20 computers to be configured to share the internet connection. There are further tailored options which you can add to your network. Each extra computer cabled will cost around £25, and an extra wireless computer added is £30. Microfilters are priced at £2 each, and a print server with 1 USB port is £35, and a print server with 2 USB ports is £55. You can expect to pay £70 for an ADSL modem/router. The standard monthly charge for Internet packages for varies between £19.95 for business, and £39.95. For network switches, a 4 port switch will cost around £10, an 8 port switch is £15, a 16 port switch is £30 and a 24 port switch is £60. For 1 metre CAT 5e patch leads (RJ45 Head – RJ45 Head), the price will be around £2, increasing to £5 for a 3 metre lead and £7 for a 5 metre lead. In addition to this, you can also buy CAT 5e cable sockets. For a RJ45 head to RJ45 socket, prices start at approximately £18 for up to 10 metres. It will cost around £25 for up to 10 metres for RJ45 socket to RJ45 socket, and a RJ45 patch bay to RJ45 socket/head is £20. CAT 5e extra to this is charged at £3 per metre. Also, in terms of cables and splitters, you can find a data link cable for around £3.20. Network splitters can vary between £3.40 and £6.50, antenna cables cost around £33, and a fibre optic cable is around £24. Alternatively, as a general guide to network installation including cabling, you can expect to pay around £499 (not including VAT) for a small, complete network of up to 5 points. This increases to £899 for up to 10 points, £1299 for up to 15 points, and £1599 for up to points. For any additional points, including cabling, it will cost around £89 for one to four points. Network Installation Support Prices Once your network has been installed, you may want to pay for additional support packages. These are advisable for smaller networks and are a cost effective way of ensuring reliable support. Prices for these can vary between £200 and £800 depending on the amount of support you expect you will need. In addition, you can choose to extend or top-up the support package which you buy. The support you receive can include a call out to a workstation for the space of one hour, which can cost between £34 and £40. An additional half hour further to this hour call out can then vary between £51 and £60. A call out to a server will cost between £51 and £60, and an additional half hour to this will be between £34 and £50. For remote support, such as remote workstation support is priced between £17 and £25 per half hour. This increases to between £34 and £50 for a half hour remote server support. Telephone support can also be found for around £20 per hour, or may come free with any support package you purchase. Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
Network Set-up Costs We were able to find some companies who published some figures they were based in different parts of the UK, so this may need to be factored in when considering their costs. When looking at the setup of a new network the following costs were found: Serviceteam8 install office networks in London and home offices anywhere inside the M25 and Surrey, Essex, Sussex, Kent, Hampshire, Berkshire & Hertfordshire. Prices charges are as follows: PC Setup and Connection £60 ex VAT per hour (£80 per hour after 6pm and Saturdays) Whilst they mention Office Network Configuraiton on their site it is not listed in their pricing. However all jobs (aside from data backup) are listed at £60 per hour ex VAT. L.J.A Services9 in Gloucestershire are home and office network specialists who setup both wired and wireless connections for customers. Prices published on their site are as follows: £45 call out including the first hours work, then £15 per half an hour after that they also offer a support offering that is £25 per call out to support a network that they have installed Some companies such as Stay Free Internet10 charge a set cost based on the number of ports required, this is an inclusive cost covering design, planning and implementation. The price includes cabling and network sockets, parts and labour and is currently £55 per port11. They then charge £45 per technician per hour to perform the network configuration which covers the installation and configuration of PCs onto the new network. This also covers the set up and connection of printers and other peripherals along with configuration of Internet access and email. Cabling Costs When looking into cabling, again the majority of suppliers preferred to be contacted and to provide a quote based on customer specifications. There was also those who charged by the hour and those who charged by the number of ports being installed. Integrated Network Solutions12 a company based in South Yorkshire and working UK-wide they are currently charging £29.00 per Cat 6 network point installed, prior to this offer the cost was £45 per network point. A-ONE IT A-ONE IT a company with 25 years’ experience working and configuring networking systems charge £25 per hour for cat5e network cabling, RJ45 sockets as well as Wireless Access Points and will provide fixed price estimates if required. 8 http://www.serviceteam.co.uk 9 http://www.ljacomputerservices.co.uk/Network-Setup.html 10 http://www.stayfreeinternet.co.uk 11 http://www.stayfreeinternet.co.uk/networkin.htm 12 http://www.integral-networks.co.uk Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
Support Agreements
Again they differ from company to company offering them, they may be a fixed monthly
charge, they may be a per hour charge (often discounted from usual support rate if the
company has had the network installed by the support company) or it may be on a job basis.
Examples of the charges for the support elements that we were able to fund published were
as follows:
Micro-Maintenance13 offer support agreements on a rolling, month-to-month basis. Benefits
are advertised as having the benefit of fixed price maintenance costs without a long-term
commitment.
Their support agreements include unlimited call-outs & remote support, and all parts &
labour costs included.
Initially a free on-site survey is undertaken and then they provide companies with a
quotation based on the age and complexity of the IT equipment.
Typically, for a small office, they charge £25 per month per workstation and £50 per month
per server. This includes associated network equipment & cabling.
Serviceteam14, highlighted above as network installers also provide support, this is on an
hourly basis of £60 per hour.
Here is a small list of some of the network installation company’s we have looked at for the
purposes of this report:
http://www.network24.co.uk/
http://www.managednetworks.co.uk/it-services/server-network-installation
http://www.vennercorp.com/html/custom_it_installation.html
http://www.customcomputerandnetworksolutions.com/
http://www.ccsweb.net/
http://www.customcomputer.com/
http://www.clicknetworks.co.uk/
13
http://micromaintenance.co.uk/support.html
14
http://www.serviceteam.co.uk
Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile
businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on
billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350http://www.raecomputing.com/
http://www.neotericuk.co.uk/network_installation.php
Bespoke Software
As with any bespoke project, software development prices are very difficult to estimate. No
two development projects are the same, and the specific requirements, development steps
involved and problems to overcome for every unique project can affect the price that you
pay.
In general, the price of a development project will be based on the number of hours of
consultancy and actual development work required. The hourly rate will depend upon the
company and the level of the developer working on the project – whilst not in the North East
and also a pay rate rather than charge out rate the website PayScale.com15 places the
median pay for a software developer at £15 per hour. With Quote Bean16 reporting that on
average, UK bespoke software developers charge £50 per hour. However this is an average
and could range up to hundreds of pounds per hour for experts in esoteric or obscure
systems and programming languages.
It should also be noted that most companies looking to procure bespoke software will want
to have a fixed price quote to avoid having to pay an hourly rate for a particular software
project. This is to avoid unexpected costs, although it is accepted that this fixed price may
be subject to some variation, particularly if major changes need to be made, or
requirements change during development, such variation should not be too significant.
Quote Bean17 state that a simple custom software solution costs around £5000 in the UK,
with programming being added to existing software costing around half of that.
It seems that bespoke software is not generally licensed per computer, as this is seen as the
advantage of paying for custom software rather than buying an off- the- shelf product.
Whilst operating in Lancaster, this company (PSS 18) gives prices for its bespoke software on
its website:
Example Bespoke Software Costs:
Examples of costs vary considerable from project to project depending on exact
specification. A typical medium size multiuser office based customer, ordering, scheduling
and reporting database application costs £5-7k.
A small database application to collect and analyse data costs around £2k.
Factors Influencing Software Cost:
Number of forms & reports
Complexity of processing required on forms
15
http://www.payscale.com
16
http://www.quotebean.co.uk/buying-services/software-developers/help-to-buy-guides/custom-software-developers/
17
http://www.quotebean.co.uk/buying-services/software-developers/help-to-buy-guides/custom-software-developers/
18
http://www.pssuk.com/BespokeSoftwareCosts.htm
Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile
businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on
billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350 Size of the data and inter-relationship between data items (customers, orders,
products etc)
Importing old data, particularly if not well structured, multiple sources increase cost
Level of design required, especially for web solutions
Distribution of data, e.g. communication between different sites increases
application costs
Interaction with other systems
Generally web based solutions cost maybe 50% more than office based PC/Server
How Costs are Split:
A typical breakdown for large web fronted data base application could be-
10% Specification, Design and Meetings
5% Import and Export
5% Database Setup, Security, Framework, Menus
40% Forms
15% Reports
25% Testing, Amendments, Support & Handover
These vary depending on the nature of the project.
Stage Payments:
Customers pay for projects in stages, for example:
30% on placement of order
40% on coding completion and demonstration of all functions and reports
completed
30% on satisfactory completion of user testing and handover
No Site Licenses
With this company’s software there are no site licenses, or per user charge that are
common with off-the-shelf packages.
Software Costs per Hour:
PSSUK charge an hourly rate of £40 for on-going support, small additions to the original
application. They don’t charge an annual fee.
The following is a small list of some of the bespoke software developers in the North East of
England which we have used for the purposes of this report:
http://www.rubixstudios.co.uk/
http://www.smurksoftware.com/
http://www.virtualmediasolutions.co.uk/
http://www.wansford.com/services/bespoke-web-applications.htm
http://www.1600systems.co.uk/
http://www.demonitservices.co.uk/index.html
http://www.perfect-image.co.uk/software-services/bespoke-software.aspx
http://www.cyberserv.biz/
http://www.thearkitecs.com/software-development.aspx
Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile
businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on
billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
Disclaimer Please note that this response and the included links can only be treated as advice and are not a substitute for professional council. Business Intelligence Reports are offered by Sunderland Software City at no charge for eligibile businesses. To access the Intelligence Service contact Billy Webber on billy.webber@sunderlandsoftwarecity.com or call 0191 5623350
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