RE: Scalability

To see how valid these claims about how much more expensive iSeries pros
are than Unix pros, I ran the following.  The numbers are approximate
for a large metropolitan area but should be fairly close based on what
I've observed. Please feel free to adjust and comment.

Fixed costs/pro:
- Facility costs (rent, office services, copier, fax, printer, coffee,
etc.): $12K/year
- Phone service + blackberry/cel phone + remote access: $4K/year
- Manager expense (assumes a manager covers a group of 8 people & earns
$110K/year)

One Time Charges:
- Recruitment costs: $15K (probably a lowball number)
- Cubicle furnishings: $2K
- PC (2 over 5 years): $4K

Variable costs:
- Salary
- Benefits (assume 30% of salary since that's what is commonly quoted.
Includes training.)

Example 1:  Assumes 2 iSeries pros do the same work as 4 Unix pros, cost
over 5 years
- iSeries Pro makes $90K/year.
  A) Benefits: $27K/year
  B) Fixed expenses: $16K/year
  C) Manager expense: ($110K/8)=$13.75K
  Annual costs: $146.75K/year/pro
  OTC: $21K/pro x 2 = $42K
  Two iSeries Pros for 5 years (2 pros x Annual costs x 5 years + OTC):
$1,509.5K
- Unix Pro make $30K/year.
  A) Benefits: $9K/year
  B) Fixed expenses: $16K/year
  C) Manager expense: ($110K/8)=$13.75K
  Annual costs: $68.75K/year/pro
  OTC: $21K/pro x 4 = $84K
  Four Unix Pros for 5 years (4 pros x Annual costs x 5 years + OTC):
$1,459K
- To pay 4 Unix pros what 2 iSeries pros cost, the Unix pros would only
pull around $30K/year.  I can't think of any market anywhere in the
country where an experienced Unix admin will only pull $30K, especially
if it's comparable to where an iSeries admin would pull $90K.

Example 2, from Bruce: 2 iSeries pros = 6 Unix pros
- iSeries Pro makes $90K/year.
  A) Benefits: $27K/year
  B) Fixed expenses: $16K/year
  C) Manager expense: ($110K/8)=$13.75K
  Annual costs: $146.75K/year/pro
  OTC: $21K/pro x 2 = $42K
  Two iSeries Pros for 5 years (2 pros x Annual costs x 5 years + OTC):
$1,509.5K
- Unix Pro make $17K/year.
  A) Benefits: $5.1K/year
  B) Fixed expenses: $16K/year
  C) Manager expense: ($110K/8)=$13.75K
  Annual costs: $49.6K/year/pro
  OTC: $21K/pro x 6 = $126K
  Four Unix Pros for 5 years (6 pros x Annual costs x 5 years + OTC):
$1,614K
- The average training class, once you include travel, can easily run
$3-4K, so these Unix admins probably aren't getting any training.
- To solve Bruce's problem about finding local talent, you could pay
each iSeries pro a OTC relocation bonus of $25K and still be cheaper
than the 6 Unix pros.
- Where in the US are you hiring experienced Unix admins for $17K/year?

John A. Jones, CISSP
Americas Information Security Officer
Jones Lang LaSalle, Inc.
V: +1-630-455-2787  F: +1-312-601-1782
john.jones@xxxxxxxxxx

-----Original Message-----
From: Bruce Barrett [mailto:bruce.barrett@xxxxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Monday, February 07, 2005 11:25 AM
To: Midrange Systems Technical Discussion
Subject: RE: Scalability

by the same token, you can hire 3, 4, 5... maybe more (depending on what
part of the country you're from) non-iSeries support personnel for the
same cost of TWO iSeries guys.



I have to agree with this statement.  Head count is not the issue, until
a company needs to cut costs.
Here in the SF bay area, you can get a half dozen UNIX people for the
cost of what they have to pay for a couple of iSeries people.  If the
iSeries people leave it is a bit of a challenge to find a replacement.
Half of the UNIX people leave they can be replaced the next day and if
the company is lucky, for less money.


Bruce Barrett



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