Essential Guide

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Editor's note

An important part of a CIO's job is securing management's confidence by demonstrating the success of the company's IT strategies. In an increasingly digital realm, methods of tracking and measuring that success are not as simple as they once were. While cost-based assessments of IT impact remain relevant, other metrics, such as the alignment of IT investment to business strategy, user experience and cloud optimization, are growing in importance.

Now, CIOs must draw the line of logic between proposed technology expenditures and the business initiatives they seek to support. This means effectively employing -- and going beyond -- key performance indicators (KPIs) to find the real value in IT projects.

In this CIO Essential Guide, we will examine the key IT metrics CIOs can employ when presenting the case for IT investment. We will also discuss the need for a metrics-driven pipeline for developers and explore strategies to reap maximum benefit from cloud investments as more enterprises call on CIOs to monetize information and generate revenue from that data.

This Essential Guide on key IT metrics is designed to give IT leaders strategic management and decision-making advice on timely topics.

1Measuring cloud investments

Transitioning to the cloud and keeping your cloud processes running smoothly is no easy task -- especially when these decisions have to be justified to upper management. To keep both IT and the business happy, CIOs need to employ the right blend of cloud metrics, practices and tools. In this section, get tips on tackling cloud performance issues, weighing cloud ROI, and cloud cost optimization strategies.

2IT metrics and business decisions

Getting funding for IT projects is a challenge many CIOs are all too familiar with. How do you prove that particular projects align with your company's business strategy or get the support needed to drive project success? In this section, explore tips on nailing down IT investments.