Abstract

This IDC study explores how strategic CIOs have learned that the best way to demonstrate the value of IT to other business executives — and guide their own IT staffs — is to focus on the business metrics that spell success in their organization and industry. Traditional IT-oriented metrics such as project milestones and uptime don't resonate with other C-suite executives, thus painting the CIO as out of touch with the business. But CIOs can reposition themselves as strategic leaders by connecting IT work with the metrics that matter to other department heads.

"Today's CIOs already know they need to ditch the technical jargon in the C-suite. But if they want to be business strategists, leading the organization's digital transformation, they need go further and focus on business performance metrics, whether the conversation is up, down, or sideways," says Mitch Betts, adjunct analyst with IDC's IT Executive Programs. "Failing to articulate how IT helps each business department achieve its goals is a recipe for IT irrelevance."

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