Executive summary
Regulated organizations evaluating sovereign AI and GRC platforms need more than license quotes — they need defensible multi-year TCO models that include infrastructure, GPU compute, implementation, operations, support, training, compliance overhead, and quantified savings. This framework standardizes how DefenAi Labs and our customers model investments across the platform fabric.
TCO cost categories
Every DefenAi platform TCO model uses eight categories: (1) Licensing & subscriptions, (2) Infrastructure & GPU, (3) Implementation — one-time, (4) Operations & FTE, (5) Support & maintenance, (6) Training & enablement, (7) Compliance & audit overhead, and (8) Annual savings / benefits. Year 2+ costs apply an escalation factor (typically 3–4%) to recurring categories.
Sovereign LLM Workbench
Key cost drivers include GPU cluster sizing for local inference (vLLM / LM Studio), corpus storage growth, and partial FTE for KB curation. Savings typically come from policy research time reduction, external consultant avoidance, and elimination of per-token cloud LLM spend for sensitive workloads.
GRC & security platforms
CyberShield, GVT360, FFAI, and AI Assurance models emphasize audit prep reduction, tooling consolidation, incident cost avoidance, and continuous compliance vs point-in-time assessments. Implementation costs reflect connector integration, framework mapping, and SSO.
3-year vs 5-year horizons
Three-year models suit POC-to-production and single-department rollouts. Five-year models are required for cabinet, board, and regulator submissions where sustainment, GPU refresh, and license renewal must be explicit. Net TCO = total cost minus cumulative savings; payback is calculated when cumulative savings exceed cumulative cost.
Using the interactive calculator
The public TCO calculator at /tco provides product-specific defaults refined from deployment experience. Adjust inputs for your scale, then request a consultant-led analysis for board-ready packaging, vendor comparison, and sensitivity analysis.