Kevin McDonald, Contributor
Profit acquisition models for security integrators and resellers shifted years ago from selling hardware and software to value-added and managed security services. Those who failed to adjust are gone. We are now at another precipice of change: VARs that traditionally profited from wrapping “value” security services around hardware and software face a new reality because margins are being pushed down by core security hardware and software vendors unapologetically going direct, leveraging mega…

You want to enter in a fully burdened labor rate for this field. What that means is that you want to take the base hourly rate, plus 25-30% for employer payroll taxes, benefits, vacation/holiday time, etc.
Smoke testing is a type of software testing performed by Alvaka after a software patching sequence to ensure that the system is working correctly and to identify any misconfigurations or conflicts within the patched system.
This is a basic cost calculator for you to compute your typical monthly cost for patching your servers, PCs, laptops, tablets and associated application software. It also forms the basis for you to begin calculating your Return on Investment for software patching, or for comparison with alternatives to the manual process of patching operating systems and application software—such as Patch Management as a Service, also known as Vulnerability Management as a Service.
Smoke testing is a term used to describe the testing process for servers after patches are applied.