ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade - Lenovo Think Progress
ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade The single most important trend impacting all industrial and manufacturing organizations is the rapid increase in the “speed of business.” This need for speed is putting new demands on design activity and significantly impacting the CAD professional in particular. As a result, the requirement for the latest and most capable software and hardware, such as the Lenovo® ThinkStation®, is more critical than ever.
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White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
2
Today’s CAD professionals must meet a number of demands that change their daily workflow and project requirements. Some of these include, • Shorter project schedules
It’s clear that there is a business need for upgraded systems to meet demands such as short development cycles or better integration with manufacturing.
• The need for multiple iterations of a design, provided in a short window • Better integration with manufacturing • Ability to work from anywhere • Shorter cycle time for design/visualize/modify • Improved information sharing within the project group • Shorter time frame for revisions/modifications/changes CAD software vendors have brought new programs to market offering many capabilities to meet these demands. However, the latest software versions often aren’t certified for older workstations or run poorly on them. There are many benefits to upgrading workstations to newer versions such as the Lenovo ThinkStation E32 to help CAD professionals meet these new and emerging requirements. This white paper examines the financial return on investment (ROI) from an upgrade.
CAD workstation upgrades are a business decision, so ROI is key As organizations consider replacing older workstations to meet new demands on the design and product development process, it’s clear that there is a business need for upgraded systems to meet demands such as shorter development cycles or better integration with manufacturing. Developing a compelling ROI case is generally one of the most important activities in building a support case for workstation upgrades. The next step is to ensure that there is strong justification for investing in the latest Lenovo ThinkStation, the most powerful NVIDIA® graphics subsystem with the most current versions of CAD software. In building such a case, it’s critical to use hard data to develop transparent scenarios for ROI calculations. The use of real and substantiated metrics is essential. It showcases the objectivity of the analysis, thereby increasing the likelihood that finance and management will accept the data. One final point on building the ROI analysis centers on showcasing specific aspects where return can be generated. There are multiple aspects where ROI metrics can be generated, and combining them where appropriate will help shorten the payback period. This white paper provides some examples of different activities that can be used to justify a workstation upgrade.
Sponsored by
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
3
Specific workload tasks and ROI opportunities This section documents hard data behind the benefits of upgrading to a Lenovo ThinkStation with advanced graphics. It also examines specific use cases, work processes, and the financial benefit from that upgrade. Given the broad range of CAD activities, file/drawing sizes, work processes, and other variables, the analyses presented use “average” or assumed details for each calculation. The fully loaded cost of a CAD professional derives from external, unbiased sources: Indeed.com and Salary.com. Based on these data points, an average salary for a CAD professional (including designers and engineers) is estimated to be $82,000, with a fully loaded cost of $118,900. This results in a cost of $59.45 per hour based on a 2,000-hour work year. The second assumption is based on Lenovo’s testing of older workstations versus new workstation products. Using the SPECviewperf tests, it’s possible to combine the results of all the different tests (catia-03, ensight-04, etc.) and create an average performance improvement. The tests pitted a ThinkStation E32 with an NVIDIA® Quadro® K2000 graphics card against an older HP® Z210 with an NVIDIA® Quadro® 600 graphics card. Based on actual tests, the ThinkStation E32 is 3.13 times faster across all SPECviewperf tests. This value is used to calculate time savings based on the individual tasks described for each ROI analysis.
SPECviewperf TEST COMPARISON BETWEEN LENOVO THINKSTATION E32 AND 2-YEAR-OLD HP Z210 WORKSTATION 8.00
ThinkStation® E32 | NVIDIA® Quadro® K600
7.00
ThinkStation® E32 | NVIDIA® Quadro® K2000
6.00
HP® Z210 | NVIDIA® Quadro® 600
5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 catia-03
ensight-04
maya-03
light-01
proe-05
Sponsored by
sw-02
tcvis-02
snx-01
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
Regular usage tasks for CAD professionals In this section of the analysis, the focus is on the common tasks many CAD professionals perform during normal activities: opening drawing files, rendering or visualizing the drawing, and creating new versions of the base design. Given the tremendous variability in the actual file size, disk type, and complexity among individual CAD professionals, average or typical metrics are used and noted as such.
File Opening Activity/Actions KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to open files on older system Number of times files are opened per day Time per day spent opening files (old system) Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
15 seconds 40 10 minutes 3.13
Time per day to open files on ThinkStation E32
3.19 minutes
Minutes saved per day
6.81 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
$6.75 $1,686.89
Render Wire Frame to Photograph-Quality Drawing Activity KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to render files on older system Number of times files are rendered per day Time per day spent converting drawing (old system)
60 seconds 8 8 minutes
Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
3.13
Time per day to render files on ThinkStation E32
2.56 minutes
Minutes saved per day
5.44 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
Sponsored by
$5.51 $1,377.26
4
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
5
Integrate Multiple Drawings to Assess Complete Product/Project Activity KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to integrate files on older system Number of times files are integrated per day ime per day spent converting drawing (old system) Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
150 seconds 2 5 minutes 3.13
Time per day to integrate files on ThinkStation E32
1.60 minutes
Minutes saved per day
3.40 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
$1.58 $396.33
The three tasks outlined above are fairly common daily tasks for many CAD professionals. Of course, how many of these tasks are completed each day and the amount of time each task takes will vary by individual. However, using these examples, the fact that the hard-dollar time savings for a CAD professional with this workload totals $3,460.48 per year is very difficult to ignore. From a time perspective, this adds up to just more than 65 hours per year, or the equivalent of more than 1.5 man-weeks.
ROI from a workstation upgrade on a project level The above examples focus on individual CAD professionals and the cost of their time. However, because few CAD professionals work in a vacuum this section of the analysis looks at the impact of faster project completion at a group level. This scenario uses similar information from the previous analysis, but for an entire design team.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Design team staff: 8 CAD professionals; 1 team manager CAD professional annual fully loaded salary
$118,900
Team manager annual fully loaded salary
$149,350
Combined annual fully loaded salary cost for design team Combined time savings for team using examples listed above Cost of 1.5 weeks of design team time based on analysis above
Sponsored by
$1,100,550 1.5 man weeks $31,746.63
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
6
It’s important to note that project delays cost organizations more than just design team time. There is also a revenue impact because products cannot be sold until the design and development are completed. For some products, the value of one month’s revenue can range from $2 million to $10 million. There are also cost impacts for marketing, sales training, and other aspects of a product launch beyond the product design.
Summary The ability to develop compelling ROI calculations for a workstation upgrade is simplified by evaluating common tasks and workflow. One factor that has worked against workstation upgrades is the perception that these poor performance issues only result in “a little bit of extra time.” However, the cumulative cost of these small increments of time is very substantial. The benefits of better designs from improved rendering and visualization or better integration with manufacturing, will help drive overall organizational success. These gains all add up to faster time to market for new products – and that provides a competitive edge.
© 2014 Lenovo. All rights reserved. Lenovo and ThinkStation are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, and Quadro are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Sponsored by
Sponsored by
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
2
Today’s CAD professionals must meet a number of demands that change their daily workflow and project requirements. Some of these include, • Shorter project schedules
It’s clear that there is a business need for upgraded systems to meet demands such as short development cycles or better integration with manufacturing.
• The need for multiple iterations of a design, provided in a short window • Better integration with manufacturing • Ability to work from anywhere • Shorter cycle time for design/visualize/modify • Improved information sharing within the project group • Shorter time frame for revisions/modifications/changes CAD software vendors have brought new programs to market offering many capabilities to meet these demands. However, the latest software versions often aren’t certified for older workstations or run poorly on them. There are many benefits to upgrading workstations to newer versions such as the Lenovo ThinkStation E32 to help CAD professionals meet these new and emerging requirements. This white paper examines the financial return on investment (ROI) from an upgrade.
CAD workstation upgrades are a business decision, so ROI is key As organizations consider replacing older workstations to meet new demands on the design and product development process, it’s clear that there is a business need for upgraded systems to meet demands such as shorter development cycles or better integration with manufacturing. Developing a compelling ROI case is generally one of the most important activities in building a support case for workstation upgrades. The next step is to ensure that there is strong justification for investing in the latest Lenovo ThinkStation, the most powerful NVIDIA® graphics subsystem with the most current versions of CAD software. In building such a case, it’s critical to use hard data to develop transparent scenarios for ROI calculations. The use of real and substantiated metrics is essential. It showcases the objectivity of the analysis, thereby increasing the likelihood that finance and management will accept the data. One final point on building the ROI analysis centers on showcasing specific aspects where return can be generated. There are multiple aspects where ROI metrics can be generated, and combining them where appropriate will help shorten the payback period. This white paper provides some examples of different activities that can be used to justify a workstation upgrade.
Sponsored by
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
3
Specific workload tasks and ROI opportunities This section documents hard data behind the benefits of upgrading to a Lenovo ThinkStation with advanced graphics. It also examines specific use cases, work processes, and the financial benefit from that upgrade. Given the broad range of CAD activities, file/drawing sizes, work processes, and other variables, the analyses presented use “average” or assumed details for each calculation. The fully loaded cost of a CAD professional derives from external, unbiased sources: Indeed.com and Salary.com. Based on these data points, an average salary for a CAD professional (including designers and engineers) is estimated to be $82,000, with a fully loaded cost of $118,900. This results in a cost of $59.45 per hour based on a 2,000-hour work year. The second assumption is based on Lenovo’s testing of older workstations versus new workstation products. Using the SPECviewperf tests, it’s possible to combine the results of all the different tests (catia-03, ensight-04, etc.) and create an average performance improvement. The tests pitted a ThinkStation E32 with an NVIDIA® Quadro® K2000 graphics card against an older HP® Z210 with an NVIDIA® Quadro® 600 graphics card. Based on actual tests, the ThinkStation E32 is 3.13 times faster across all SPECviewperf tests. This value is used to calculate time savings based on the individual tasks described for each ROI analysis.
SPECviewperf TEST COMPARISON BETWEEN LENOVO THINKSTATION E32 AND 2-YEAR-OLD HP Z210 WORKSTATION 8.00
ThinkStation® E32 | NVIDIA® Quadro® K600
7.00
ThinkStation® E32 | NVIDIA® Quadro® K2000
6.00
HP® Z210 | NVIDIA® Quadro® 600
5.00 4.00 3.00 2.00 1.00 catia-03
ensight-04
maya-03
light-01
proe-05
Sponsored by
sw-02
tcvis-02
snx-01
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
Regular usage tasks for CAD professionals In this section of the analysis, the focus is on the common tasks many CAD professionals perform during normal activities: opening drawing files, rendering or visualizing the drawing, and creating new versions of the base design. Given the tremendous variability in the actual file size, disk type, and complexity among individual CAD professionals, average or typical metrics are used and noted as such.
File Opening Activity/Actions KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to open files on older system Number of times files are opened per day Time per day spent opening files (old system) Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
15 seconds 40 10 minutes 3.13
Time per day to open files on ThinkStation E32
3.19 minutes
Minutes saved per day
6.81 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
$6.75 $1,686.89
Render Wire Frame to Photograph-Quality Drawing Activity KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to render files on older system Number of times files are rendered per day Time per day spent converting drawing (old system)
60 seconds 8 8 minutes
Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
3.13
Time per day to render files on ThinkStation E32
2.56 minutes
Minutes saved per day
5.44 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
Sponsored by
$5.51 $1,377.26
4
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
5
Integrate Multiple Drawings to Assess Complete Product/Project Activity KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Time to integrate files on older system Number of times files are integrated per day ime per day spent converting drawing (old system) Speed improvement factor for ThinkStation E32
150 seconds 2 5 minutes 3.13
Time per day to integrate files on ThinkStation E32
1.60 minutes
Minutes saved per day
3.40 minutes
Value of time saved per day Value of time saved per work year
$1.58 $396.33
The three tasks outlined above are fairly common daily tasks for many CAD professionals. Of course, how many of these tasks are completed each day and the amount of time each task takes will vary by individual. However, using these examples, the fact that the hard-dollar time savings for a CAD professional with this workload totals $3,460.48 per year is very difficult to ignore. From a time perspective, this adds up to just more than 65 hours per year, or the equivalent of more than 1.5 man-weeks.
ROI from a workstation upgrade on a project level The above examples focus on individual CAD professionals and the cost of their time. However, because few CAD professionals work in a vacuum this section of the analysis looks at the impact of faster project completion at a group level. This scenario uses similar information from the previous analysis, but for an entire design team.
KEY ASSUMPTIONS: Design team staff: 8 CAD professionals; 1 team manager CAD professional annual fully loaded salary
$118,900
Team manager annual fully loaded salary
$149,350
Combined annual fully loaded salary cost for design team Combined time savings for team using examples listed above Cost of 1.5 weeks of design team time based on analysis above
Sponsored by
$1,100,550 1.5 man weeks $31,746.63
White Paper: ROI and Benefits of a Workstation Upgrade
6
It’s important to note that project delays cost organizations more than just design team time. There is also a revenue impact because products cannot be sold until the design and development are completed. For some products, the value of one month’s revenue can range from $2 million to $10 million. There are also cost impacts for marketing, sales training, and other aspects of a product launch beyond the product design.
Summary The ability to develop compelling ROI calculations for a workstation upgrade is simplified by evaluating common tasks and workflow. One factor that has worked against workstation upgrades is the perception that these poor performance issues only result in “a little bit of extra time.” However, the cumulative cost of these small increments of time is very substantial. The benefits of better designs from improved rendering and visualization or better integration with manufacturing, will help drive overall organizational success. These gains all add up to faster time to market for new products – and that provides a competitive edge.
© 2014 Lenovo. All rights reserved. Lenovo and ThinkStation are trademarks of Lenovo in the United States, other countries, or both. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, and Quadro are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Sponsored by
