Breaking
March 14, 2025

The hidden costs of your on-premise software | usagoldmines.com

Great data automation software creates value. It enables your business to work faster, more efficiently and more cost-effectively. At the other end of the scale, though, is software that bottlenecks progress and eats up resources.

Cost-cutting continues to dominate the agenda for Operations leaders. It’s therefore important to make sure that the data management, reconciliation or automation software you’re using falls into the former category and not the latter.

We explored some of the costs of inefficient software in our article on the true expense of supposedly ‘free’ recon tools. But even if you have paid for your on-premise system – do you really know how much it’s costing you?

Answering that question is difficult.

Calculating the total cost of ownership (TCO) for on-premise systems is easier said than done, because many of the costs are indirect, hidden, or part of the finance allocation process.

Licenses, maintenance and hardware are just the tip – there’s a lot more lurking below the surface. Today, we’re going to help you uncover them all, so you can build a transparent picture of the cost of managing data.

Here’s what else you need to factor into your calculations.

Unhelpful upgrades

With a cloud computing platform you effortlessly move from version to version to access new features and performance improvements. But software upgrades and patches are the only way of delivering innovation in an on-premise world – and they cost a lot of money. They are often mandatory and short notice; shorter, at least, than the time it would take you to shop around for an alternate system.

You often have no choice but to pay to move to the new version (we’ll explore why sticking with what you’ve got is anything but cost-effective later). But it may not bring any additional features and benefits that you need. It may introduce capabilities outside of your use cases, for instance, or perhaps support for a new asset class that you don’t trade.

One client told us that they recently finished upgrading their ten-year old on-premise system to the latest version. It took them three years and an estimated $5-$10m and they got no value or functional benefit out of it.

Another client – a smaller firm – budgets $1m every year for upgrades to their on-premise system.

I know from my own experience how costly and time consuming these types of migrations can be – absorbing focus that could be better spent elsewhere

Those costs go beyond just the licensing costs for the new system. Changing from one software version to another often means your IT team has to completely rebuild all your processes. Then they and the users have to test them to ensure they still work correctly and none of your integrations have been broken by the upgrade.

Again, it’s worth pointing out that you may not see any benefits from being on the new system.

This is change-the-bank money that you’re having to spend, but it’s not delivering any change. It’s the cost of business-as-usual in an on-premise world.

End-of-life – and beyond

But what do you do when you either can’t afford to upgrade, or rightly refuse to do so because of the unnecessary cost? In that situation, your software ends up being unsupported.

The vendor may offer you a premium support package, or you have to hire in extra IT resources just to keep the system working. You’ve just traded the cost of upgrading for the higher cost of keeping your existing software running.

By this point you have a zombie system – dead as far as the vendor is concerned, and with no spark of innovation left. It shambles along, doing as much of the job as it can manage, while you run around after it, picking up all the bits that have fallen off.

Are you factoring in the cost of life support for sunset systems into your on-premise TCO?

Inagility

The slow and laborious patch management and upgrade cycle means that innovation is a sluggish process in an on-premise world. Time-to-market for change can stretch to months or even years. Firms rely on their IT teams to install software updates, rebuild processes, release them into production environments, and so on.

This slow time-to-value makes Operations very inagile. This is an acute problem in today’s world. Regulatory change, for instance, is relentless and happening on multiple fronts. How many risks is this introducing to the business? How many opportunities are missed? These are all costs that must be considered.

There is a way around this for Operations teams, but it’s one that just introduces more cost and risk into the business…

Endless manual work

On-premise reconciliation systems exist to help you automate your data. But they often have the opposite effect. The lack of agility explored above forces Ops teams to resort to solving problems manually.

There’s often an army of ‘Human APIs’ surrounding on-premise systems – people whose job it is to manually plug automation gaps. They perform tasks such as:

  • Extracting data from unstructured formats like emails and PDFs
  • Keying data into systems in the correct schema
  • Copying data into a spreadsheet to reconcile
  • Manually matching (often thousands of) items where the system hasn’t spotted the connection

All this means that a lot of your resources in Operations are invested into low-value work. Your data experts are handling tedious and repetitive tasks instead of performing valuable activities such as root cause analysis, fixing data at source, or providing strategic insights for the business.

And that’s to say nothing of the cost of operational risk that manual work introduces to the business, which can result in direct costs such as regulatory fines or errors leading to trading losses.

Conclusion

The upfront license fees for on-premise software are just the start of a long tail of costs that snake their way through your operations. Your IT team is responsible not only for hardware and maintenance, but often for actually operating the system.

This cost only grows if the system is sunset and requires life support. Upgrading is costly and usually mandatory – regardless of how much value, if any, you get out of it. Long change management processes cost you in agility and slow time-to-value. Hundreds or thousands of workers are required to fill the functionality gaps, introducing risk to your business.

These systems are usually well-entrenched in your architecture, making them difficult to remove. But that’s in a world where you’re replacing one on-premise tool with another. Replatforming to an agile cloud platform is an entirely different affair; gradual, measured and low-risk.

We’ve listed the best IT asset management software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro’s Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro

​ 

This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak

All rights reserved to : USAGOLDMIES . www.usagoldmines.com

You can Enjoy surfing our website categories and read more content in many fields you may like .

Why USAGoldMines ?

USAGoldMines is a comprehensive website offering the latest in financial, crypto, and technical news. With specialized sections for each category, it provides readers with up-to-date market insights, investment trends, and technological advancements, making it a valuable resource for investors and enthusiasts in the fast-paced financial world.

Recent:

Activist Groups Challenge UK Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor Tim Hardwick | usagoldmines.com

Well, AMD's Radeon RX 9070 series launch isn't going as smoothly as we thought - and it's because re...

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 3 enters development as team promises to support Space Marine 2 'with...

OpenAI calls on US government to ban DeepSeek, calling it ‘state-subsidized’ and ‘state-controlled’ ...

"I'm an idiot": Garmin user reveals how fixing one setting completely changed their training after m...

You'll finally be able to play Fortnite on Windows 11 Arm-powered laptops as Epic Games partners wit...

Rocket Report: ULA confirms cause of booster anomaly; Crew-10 launch on tap Stephen Clark | usagoldm...

Best Chromebooks 2025: Best overall, best battery life, and more | usagoldmines.com

Best monitors 2025: Gaming, 4K, HDR, and more | usagoldmines.com

Why you should buy a cheaper laptop and upgrade the storage yourself | usagoldmines.com

Logitech’s wireless charging mousepad is the best absurd PC luxury I’ve ever owned | usagoldmines.c...

I’ve tried the new Mercedes-Benz Superscreen – and its Google Gemini-powered smarts push EV infotain...

Wix teams up with Printful for in-house print-on-demand tools | usagoldmines.com

AMD describes its recent RDNA 4 GPU launch as 'unprecedented' and promises restocking the Radeon RX ...

Severance season 2 episode 9 recap: 7 new theories I have about 'The After Hours', and answers about...

The psychology of scams: how cybercriminals are exploiting the human brain | usagoldmines.com

Apple’s $349 iPad 11 is missing a lot, but it’s still all the iPad most people need Andrew Cunningha...

Outbreak turns 30 Jennifer Ouellette | usagoldmines.com

Apple to Support Encrypted RCS Messaging in Future Software Update Tim Hardwick | usagoldmines.com

The role of automation in achieving sustainability goals | usagoldmines.com

From Ace of Spades to Them Bones, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3+4's soundtrack is already looking excelle...

CEOs think they might lose their jobs if they can't deliver on AI | usagoldmines.com

Complexity of IT systems could be increasing security risks for businesses | usagoldmines.com

4 ways ChatGPT Tasks can help you take control of your life – trust me it's my favorite AI tool of 2...

How to Merge Disk Partitions Without Losing Data | usagoldmines.com

How to Set SSD as Boot Drive in BIOS | usagoldmines.com

Turn your website into a data-collecting machine with this no-code tool | usagoldmines.com

What if a $3 course could change your entire career? | usagoldmines.com

The definitive guide to credential collaboration | usagoldmines.com

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate tip: Get 1.5 years of access for dirt cheap | usagoldmines.com

Kuo: Cook Should Personally Address Siri Apple Intelligence Failure Juli Clover | usagoldmines.com

I tried Gemini's new AI image generation tool - here are 5 ways to get the best art from Google's Fl...

UMass disbands its entering biomed graduate class over Trump funding chaos Beth Mole | usagoldmines....

Android 16 Beta 3 Adds “Battery Health” Section Kellen | usagoldmines.com

Nebula's Smallest Portable Projector Is $130 Off Right Now Daniel Oropeza | usagoldmines.com

Dell just launched a $4,000 75-inch 4K touchscreen display - but I've found one rival that's 50% che...

At $15,000, this massive 256GB RAM laptop makes Apple's MacBook Pro look affordable, tiny and very, ...

Android Could Soon Get AI-Powered Notification Summary Feature Tim | usagoldmines.com

Home Remedies Are Actually Better for Kids Than Cold Medicine Beth Skwarecki | usagoldmines.com

AirPods Getting Live Translation Feature Later This Year Juli Clover | usagoldmines.com

NYT Strands hints and answers for Friday, March 14 (game #376) | usagoldmines.com

NYT Connections hints and answers for Friday, March 14 (game #642) | usagoldmines.com

Quordle hints and answers for Friday, March 14 (game #1145) | usagoldmines.com

Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could resurrect an intriguing camera feature | usagoldmines.com

Athena landed in a dark crater where the temperature was minus 280° F Eric Berger | usagoldmines.com

AI search engines give incorrect answers at an alarming 60% rate, study says Benj Edwards | usagoldm...

Google issues a fix for Chromecast ‘untrusted’ bug | usagoldmines.com

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: These Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds Daniel Oropeza | usagoldmi...

Why Google Gemini Wants Your Search History (and Why I Won't Be Sharing Mine) Jake Peterson | usagol...

Google Gemini Can Now Use Your Search History to Provide Personalized Responses Juli Clover | usagol...

iPhone 16e Has a Bluetooth Audio Problem Joe Rossignol | usagoldmines.com

Netflix launches trailer for Black Mirror season 7, giving us a look at its first-ever sequel episod...

Millions of Americans are missing out on cheap unlimited cloud storage - how to check if you are one...

Why You Might Want to Avoid the Latest Chromecast Update Jake Peterson | usagoldmines.com

Whoop Can Now Estimate Your VO2 Max Beth Skwarecki | usagoldmines.com

OpenAI Calls on U.S. Government to Let It Freely Use Copyrighted Material for AI Training Juli Clove...

AI server designed for Chinese military use wins major global design award in Europe waynewilliams@o...

‘Podcasting shouldn’t be locked behind walled gardens’: Pocket Casts slams Spotify and makes its web...

The FCC is creating a security council to bolster US defenses against cyberattacks | usagoldmines.c...

Toyota's self-charging concept EV could help you tackle the daily commute on solar power alone | us...

Google has a fix for your broken Chromecast V2 unless you factory reset Ryan Whitwam | usagoldmines....

Popular program to promote women becoming aerospace engineers is at risk Eric Berger | usagoldmines....

Fortnite is coming to Snapdragon PCs: ‘We’re all in on PC gaming’ | usagoldmines.com

Android 16 Beta 3 Available for Pixel Devices Kellen | usagoldmines.com

Google Pushes Initial Fix for Chromecast 2nd Gen and Audio Outage Kellen | usagoldmines.com

A New 'Add to Calendar' Button Is Coming to Gmail Khamosh Pathak | usagoldmines.com

This 2020 M1 MacBook Air Is Over $500 Off Right Now Pradershika Sharma | usagoldmines.com

Mac Mini vs. Mac Studio Buyer's Guide: 20+ Differences Compared Hartley Charlton | usagoldmines.com

Forget AI – WhatsApp is planning a simple messages feature that could be its most useful upgrade in ...

Microsoft uncovers sleuthy new XCSSET MacOS malware campaign | usagoldmines.com

Have we accidentally bred some dogs for obesity? Jacek Krywko | usagoldmines.com

Meta plans to test and tinker with X’s community notes algorithm Ashley Belanger | usagoldmines.com

Windows 11 bug with Nvidia GPUs prevents apps from launching | usagoldmines.com

Eufy FamiLock S3 Max review: Lock, stock, and onboard video | usagoldmines.com

Gemini Connects to More Apps, Like Google Tasks and Photos Tim | usagoldmines.com

Galaxy S23 Family Gets One UI 7 Beta Access Tim | usagoldmines.com

T-Mobile Continues Raising Prices on Older Plans, Up to $5 Per Line Kellen | usagoldmines.com

Google Has Dropped the Paywall for These Gemini Features Khamosh Pathak | usagoldmines.com

You Need Update Firefox Before Friday Jake Peterson | usagoldmines.com

Kuo: Apple Knows Apple Intelligence is 'Underwhelming' and Won't Drive iPhone Upgrades Juli Clover |...

Get ready for a bounty of PC games on June 8, as the PC Gaming show is back | usagoldmines.com

I cloned my voice in seconds using a free AI app, and we really need to talk about speech synthesis ...

Google’s Gemini AI can now see your search history Ryan Whitwam | usagoldmines.com

Best ultrawide monitors 2025: Picks for gaming, budget, 5K, premium, and more | usagoldmines.com

Best VPN for streaming Netflix 2025: Watch from wherever you are | usagoldmines.com

I’m trying to replace my Apple TV with a home theater PC | usagoldmines.com

Kensington’s new Expert Mouse trackball looks great, but availability is uncertain | usagoldmines.c...

Slip this tracker in your wallet and never lose it again, now 30% off | usagoldmines.com

Anker’s fast-charging USB wall plug for 3 devices is 37% off right now | usagoldmines.com

Google Play Games on PC Gets Major Upgrades, More Games, New Play Points Bonuses Kellen | usagoldmin...

Google’s Gemini Gets “Personalization” Using Your Search History If You Are Cool With That Kellen | ...

My Favorite Method for Scrambling Eggs Isn't What I Predicted Allie Chanthorn Reinmann | usagoldmine...

You Can Use the Windows App to Acess Your PC Remotely or in the Cloud David Nield | usagoldmines.com

Netflix might be renewing The Perfect Couple and Beauty in Black for season 2, but I don’t get why w...

The new NordicTrack Ultra 1 treadmill looks like it was designed by an architect and costs $15,000 s...

I made an AI version of Bilbo Baggins using Goggle Gemini for free, and shared a pipe with him outsi...

Gemini Deep Research just got even smarter and it’s now free for everyone to try - here's why you sh...

Google just gave Gemini a superpower by allowing it to access your Search history - here's why I'm e...

Meta warns of worrying security flaw hitting open source type software | usagoldmines.com

Ubisoft shareholder accuses publisher of 'misleading investors', plans protest outside Paris HQ | u...

Leave a Reply