RNR Consulting was retained by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) to conduct research on the requirements and implications of upgrading from Microsoft Office 2003 to Microsoft Office 2007 and from Windows XP to Windows Vista.

In order to complete this initiative, RNR Consulting conducted research utilizing software application sources and sources external to NEORSD. RNR Consulting reviewed the current information system hardware composition for both desktop computers and laptop computers, analyzed the current hard disk drive size, RAM, and the processor and graphic cards of each machine being considered for upgrade.

In order to provide the District with an estimated cost of the hardware upgrade, RNR Consulting researched the average standard cost of the hardware parts required. RNR Consulting also estimated the cost for both the Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 software upgrades. For the Microsoft Office 2007, we included costs for both upgrading to the standard version and professional version. For the Windows Vista, we included the cost for the business version, with and without the software assurance. The software assurance option would enable the District to upgrade to Windows Vista Enterprise, an edition that includes the BitLocker technology that supports encryption of the system volume. We also outlined the various editions of Windows Vista and gave our recommendations on the version of Windows Vista the District should consider. The cost estimates were obtained from software resellers including CDW, Softchoice Corporation and Microsoft sales. The cost estimates reflected special offers provided to government agencies.