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Fast Company

Connect digital infrastructure and business metrics to drive change

Companies spend nearly $5 trillion on technology every year, with software and IT services accounting for more than half that budget. While CFOs may approve these investments, the vast majority remain unsatisfied with how technology translates into business value. Left unaddressed, this disconnect can erode the perception of IT across the organization. To bridge the gap, IT leaders must define, measure, and communicate their contributions through the lens of business goals rather than defaulting to traditional operational metrics. THE DANGER OF CHASING GREEN LIGHTS Traditional metrics like uptime and Mean Time to Resolution are useful for gauging system health, but they lack the context of broader business KPIs. A dashboard full of green lights might suggest everything is working as intended, but without the proper visibility, it can obscure underlying risks like extended application paths or firewall bypass scenarios. These oversights aren't failures of IT; they're symptoms of today's distributed, dynamic infrastructures. Instead of chasing green lights, actively seek out red flags. This means asking uncomfortable but essential questions. What aren't we seeing? Where are we flying blind? What's the cost of not knowing? These questions can help bring gaps to the surface, making them the key to establishing true control of the infrastructure. By understanding how infrastructure impacts revenue, risk management, and operational resilience, IT leaders can better justify their priorities, defend their budgets, and demonstrate how they're contributing to business goals. SHIFTING FROM VANITY METRICS TO VALUE METRICS While metrics like device counts or ticket resolution rates validate certain operational achievements, they rarely resonate with business leaders. Most executives aren't concerned with the intricacies of system performance; they care about supporting business growth, enhancing the customer experience, and strengthening their security posture. As an IT leader, failing to communicate in these terms often leads to struggling to gain stakeholders' trust or securing the resources needed for future initiatives. Instead, focus on metrics in terms of their business impact. This starts with small, deliberate changes in how you communicate your team's work. Try these strategies: • Map the infrastructure to board-level objectives. Ensure that executives understand which applications and systems are tied directly to revenue-generating activities, customer touchpoints, or regulatory requirements. This provides a natural lens for evaluating decisions related to infrastructure. • Ask harder, but more valuable questions. Instead of only tracking whether a device or service is functioning, ask what would happen if it weren't. Would it affect revenue? Delay production? Lead to noncompliance? This helps you determine the cost of certain risks, then address them accordingly. • Frame IT successes in a way that resonates with stakeholders. A successful migration might reduce costs and improve scalability. Strengthened firewalls could lower exposure to financial and reputational risks. Streamlined app performance might enhance customer satisfaction and retention. By contextualizing accomplishments this way, you can position IT as a strategic partner in business growth. BE A LEADER WHO LOOKS FOR TROUBLE Fragmented tooling, overlapping responsibilities, and constant change can make visibility a persistent challenge for IT teams. Faced with mounting complexity, many fall back on what they can easily measure, even when those metrics fail to reflect real impact. Though it may be unnerving to discover unmonitored devices, configuration drift, and hidden dependencies, organizations can't afford to ignore these risks. Effective IT leaders operate with a proactive mindset that says 'We don't see everything yet, but we know where to look.' This approach is instrumental in transforming the department's perception as a cost center to a pillar of innovation, growth, and competitive advantage. Leaders who confront visibility challenges directly can address gaps early and have greater insight into how they can align decisions with business needs. When infrastructure strategy reflects business priorities, IT leaders position themselves to not just adapt to change, but to lead it.