New Metrics for Determining IT's Business Value

InformationWeek on October 23, 2006

Return on Investment and other staples of IT metrics aren't likely to disappear. Yet those traditional metrics don't always get you where you want to go with IT/business alignment. Some CIOs are shaking things up by adding new measurements, some of which you may find a bit unusual. For instance, one CIO measures how many times IT personnel go on sales calls. Another strives to improve IT's value by setting a "benefit per developer" goal of $450,000 by 2009. The metrics vary so widely, you may wonder how these ideas can be applied to your company — and that's just the point. To successfully measure how you're helping the business, you should start by looking at the company's unique business strategies and then establish metrics that support those strategies.