Imagine you're in the market to buy a car. When doing research, what do you look for?
Does it have to be sporty? Have 4-wheel drive? Will you only consider blue cars? Or cars with leather seats?
As with any major purchase, if your only criteria are "What can it do for me?" and "How cheap can I buy it?" then you will end up disappointed.
So how do you make the best decision? You take a look at the total cost of ownership (TCO).
For example, let's take a look at three hypothetical cars:
To choose the right car, you must consider many additional factors. Do you spend a lot of time on the road? Is your cousin a mechanic? What is the cost of a gallon of fuel? What about taxes?
Trying to determine which car is the best deal requires you to consider the TCO. (And remember, as we've discussed before, price is not the same as cost.)
The same reasoning and evaluation processes apply to buying software as well.
As the NonProfit Times recently pointed out,
Nonprofit techies like to say that open source software is free the same way that puppies are free. People give them away, but you’re going to have to pay for food, veterinary appointments, and the occasional doggie daycare. You have to train it and wake up during the night to let it out, and cover the costs of the inevitable chewed up shoe or chair leg along the way.
In the nonprofit world, free software is never actually "fee-free." And for larger scale software like constituent relationship management (CRM), donor databases, and online fundraising, there will always be maintenance required to keep it running smoothly.
Think about it. Technology is constantly changing, evolving, and improving.
Your operating system requires updates. Your browser requires updates. Why wouldn't your nonprofit software?
And it's more than just purchase price. You also must factor in the amount of time and effort needed to get your staff familiarized with free software as well. Multiply the number of users by the number of hours needed for training and there is one more cost to consider.
And what if you decide to make the switch to free software, discover it not a good fit for your organization, and are forced to switch back? The costs keep adding up.
Nonprofit Times recommends three questions to ask before choosing new software.
These are all excellent questions that deserve thoughtful consideration. Your organization will no doubt change over time. Will your free software be able to keep up?