R
I have noticed on numerous occassions people looking for various solutions (HMI, PC104, PLCs, etc.) with an important selection criteria being that the solution is "cheap". I know everyone wants to minimze cost but my perception of "cheap" may be different from everyone else's. Therefore, I have no idea if a particular solution
that I am aware of would meet this need. Sometimes I get the impression that "cheap" means "free" especially when the word "really" is used in front of "cheap".
Is a product "cheap" if it's price is less than 50% of the system/effort savings gained by using the product or versus the cost of developing your own equivalent? 25%? 80%?
Or is "cheap" a subjective judgement based upon what the price of the most expensive equivalent product is or the price of the market leader's product?
Does the concept of "value" matter when "cheap" is the criteria?
I'm not trying to be facetious here. I just don't know how to judge if a solution I am familar with is cheap or not when someone asks for a cheap solution without specifics. Most of the good products and solutions I am aware have a significant price but I use them because they return more value than their price.
I am also interested in this issue also as it relates to the open source "movement" for control software. I can understand some of the
technical advantages of this approach but what are the cost/price/value advantages?
Regards,
Ralph Mackiewicz
SISCO, Inc.
Ralph Mackiewicz
SISCO, Inc.
6605 19-1/2 Mile Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48314-1408 USA
T: +810-254-0020 F: +810-254-0053
mailto:[email protected] http://www.sisconet.com
that I am aware of would meet this need. Sometimes I get the impression that "cheap" means "free" especially when the word "really" is used in front of "cheap".
Is a product "cheap" if it's price is less than 50% of the system/effort savings gained by using the product or versus the cost of developing your own equivalent? 25%? 80%?
Or is "cheap" a subjective judgement based upon what the price of the most expensive equivalent product is or the price of the market leader's product?
Does the concept of "value" matter when "cheap" is the criteria?
I'm not trying to be facetious here. I just don't know how to judge if a solution I am familar with is cheap or not when someone asks for a cheap solution without specifics. Most of the good products and solutions I am aware have a significant price but I use them because they return more value than their price.
I am also interested in this issue also as it relates to the open source "movement" for control software. I can understand some of the
technical advantages of this approach but what are the cost/price/value advantages?
Regards,
Ralph Mackiewicz
SISCO, Inc.
Ralph Mackiewicz
SISCO, Inc.
6605 19-1/2 Mile Road
Sterling Heights, MI 48314-1408 USA
T: +810-254-0020 F: +810-254-0053
mailto:[email protected] http://www.sisconet.com