The potential savings from adopting S1000D can now be used to determine how long it will take to realize a return on investment in S1000D training, data conversion, and technology.
In our example from last time, the total savings from 38 people (without the 50 mechanics) was $1.5M after three years. In year 1, only 20% of the savings potential was realized. In year 2, another 50% of the savings’ potential was realized, and the total savings potential was realized in year 3.
Assuming an investment of $500,000 in technology, $20,000 in implementation services, and $100,000 in software maintenance, the Net Present Value and Internal Rate of Return over three years are highly favorable. And the break-even point (where the NPV is 0) comes after only about 1.5 years.
If you believe these projections are optimistic, remember our first case. They obtained a 48% cost reduction after only nine months. And for that case, we have not yet even calculated the value of improved availability!
In Conclusion
The S1000D standard was designed with a modular nature and many predefined elements to improve reuse and interoperability and thus significantly reduce the costs associated with producing technical publications.
Implementing S1000D requires some initial investments, depending on your current level of expertise and the formats you are currently supporting. Initial investments may include XML training, S1000D training, XML Editing tools, S1000D Business Rule development, S1000D CSDB, and IETP technology and data conversion services.
Efficiency gains and cost reductions will offset these investments; however, it is vital to understand where the cost savings and benefits will come from to determine your ultimate ROI.
Throughout this series, we have provided several examples and strategies for determining your ROI to make the S1000D business justification. We hope you have found our Top 8 Justifications for Making the Business Case for S1000D blog series enlightening and why it makes sense for businesses today.
