Concept / Term · Established

TCO

Total Cost of Ownership

What does TCO mean?

The complete lifetime cost of a technology choice, including purchase, operation, support, people, migration and eventual replacement or exit.

Keep exploring

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RFP / RFI / ITTFormal procurement documents. An RFI gathers information, an RFP or ITT invites priced proposals against a specification.
PQQ / SQThe first stage of many UK tenders, screening suppliers on financial standing, insurance, policies and experience before they may bid.
Framework AgreementAn agreement letting public bodies buy from approved suppliers without running a full tender each time. Getting onto one is often the real prize.
FTSThe UK government service where higher-value public-sector contract notices are published, post-Brexit successor to OJEU.
SOWThe document defining exactly what will be delivered, by when, to what standard and for how much. Where scope disputes are won or lost.
MSAThe overarching contract setting the standing terms between two parties, so individual pieces of work only need a short SOW.
NDAA confidentiality agreement, usually signed before commercially sensitive discussions.