To truly represent cost instead of price, you must factor in more than monetary
requirements. How much staff time will be required? Is there any training required? How
much will it cost to create the documentation? A number of factors are difficult to place
an exact price tag on, but at the very least, you must be sure to consider them in your
planning process.
nNote Backup/recovery plans are rarely price justifiable, at least not in terms of immediate return on
investment, and a full disaster recovery plan certainly isn??™t. Linking price to cost places executive buy-in
to any such activity in jeopardy.
There is a distinct difference between price and cost. Price always breaks down into
dollar amounts. Cost can include abstract items such as time required by staff, training,
and consulting time. Yes, you could convert all of these things to a price tag, but often
there are implications that are difficult to relate in terms of dollar amounts.
When discussing cost at the executive level, terms such as total cost of ownership
(TCO) and return on investment (ROI) come up. Avoid these buzzwords, as they tend to
spiral your BRP out of control.
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