The SharePoint Strategists: Budgeting for SharePoint

The SALEM Consulting Group - The SharePoint Strategists: Budgeting for SharePoint:

At Salem we fret about why so many clients have no idea how to budget for SharePoint and in particular why so many aspects of a SharePoint programme budget are missed or left on the table. Clearly there is a very basic view that all a client needs to do is budget for the platform and architecture and everything else will fall into place. At Salem we witness a number of projects (fewer programmes) where the budget really isn't satisfactory and money runs out due to bad planning too early in the cycle. That is not to say a great deal of budget is required, but more about correct forecasting of potential costs from the start.

Of course there are many variables such as whether a solution is on-premise or off-premise, whether the client is looking for a simple single solution or whether there is a long term programme strategy, whether there are sufficient skilled resources in house and the level of licensing. If a client can anticipate potential costs and expenditure up-front and plan accordingly then the process becomes a great deal easier....