Ovum sees comparative metrics as a medium to convey value of internal IT to business


Metrics, and in particular comparative metrics is in use by many information technology (IT) decision makers to convince C level executives in their decisions related to ICT budgets. These are also used by several enterprises for making fact based decisions on their ICT expenditure.  Decisions on budget allocations do not depend only on process improvements provided by IT. It also depends on how cost effective and valued are these services to an organization. Additionally, it is also imperative for enterprises to understand how their peers are spending in similar areas.

The benchmarking tool provides a holistic picture of estimated ICT expenditure and staffing levels for organizations of all types across the globe and thus help businesses to make informed decisions. The interactive tool allows users to benchmark IT spending in 60 geographies across 19 broad industry verticals and eight employee bands.

According to Vinay Gupta, Ovum Senior Analyst and author of the tool, “Benchmarking, using comparative IT metrics, provides a way of communicating value of internal IT to business. However, it is important to select relevant metrics as a benchmark.”

Vinay further commented: “Benchmarks are not just numbers, rather these are perceptions and must map to enterprises’ business strategy or goals”.

 The tool provides benchmarks for external and internal spend done by an enterprise across Infrastructure, Applications, Communications and IT management. Additionally, the tool provides staffing benchmarks across the above segments. Figure 1 provides overall ICT spend benchmarks in percentage for a financial service enterprise with revenue of $60bn and headquartered in the UK.


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