Business & Policy
Total cost of ownership
Total cost of ownership compares all material costs over the decision horizon: acquisition, integration, operation, support, change and retirement.
Why it matters
A lifecycle model is more useful than comparing board or IP prices because security architecture affects teams and products long after purchase.
In brief
Total cost of ownership compares all material costs over the decision horizon: acquisition, integration, operation, support, change and retirement. For CHERI it places upfront platform and porting work beside the possible reduction of some vulnerability, incident and assurance costs.
Key considerations
1. Acquire and integrate
Include hardware or IP, tools, supplier support, engineering, verification, training and certification.
2. Operate and maintain
Model updates, defect response, monitoring, support branches, third-party dependencies and dual-platform periods.
3. Retire and replace
Include migration, data or service continuity, end-of-support risk and the option value of portable software and standards.
Evidence and caveats
Do not count the same avoided cost twice across risk, maintenance and downtime categories. Show present-value assumptions and sensitivity where finance requires them.
Show assumptions, ranges, dates and owners for economic or policy claims. Recheck legislation, guidance, product status and prices at the decision date.