Home → Why Ironmark → Total cost of ownership
Line-by-line accounting: what a technical publications program actually pays for, and which line items collapse when the editor, review, publish, portal, and reporting all live in the same tool.
| Line item | XML editor + plugins | Ironmark |
|---|---|---|
| Authoring seats | Per-seat editor license | Per-seat Ironmark license |
| CSDB / repository | Separate CMS or PLM (typical: Windchill, Contenta, custom) | Included |
| Review workflow | Separate review tool or plug-in | Included (IPRF, peer review, review queue) |
| BREX validation | Editor plug-in or standalone tool | Included |
| Publishing pipeline | Custom XSLT chain + FO processor licenses | Included (WeasyPrint + FOP or ironmarkpdf) |
| IADS packaging | Third-party packager or custom scripts | Included |
| Customer portal | Custom-built or separate product | Included, branded per program |
| Customer feedback (DA-2028, redlines) | Email, spreadsheets, or third-party tool | Included, tied to source DMs |
| Applicability wizard | Manual XML editing, custom scripts, or third-party | Included |
| PM dashboard / reporting | External spreadsheet / BI tool | Included |
| Integration engineering (year 1) | Substantial — connect editor to CMS to portal to review tool to reporting | Not required — the surfaces already share a project model |
| Ongoing maintenance | Every integration seam needs upkeep as vendors ship updates | One product, one update path |
| Training | Per-tool training for each seat that touches multiple systems | One tool, one training curve |
| Pricing model | Per-seat editor + per-module add-ons + per-user CMS + per-integration ongoing | Per seat, on the page ($520–$840/yr). Standard SDMs included. |
We don't publish specific customer TCO figures — programs vary too much for a single number to be meaningful. But the shape holds: an XML-editor-plus-plugins stack pays for each row above separately, and each seam between systems has an ongoing engineering cost. Ironmark collapses most of those into one line.
All three are itemized upfront, not surprises at renewal.