The CIO's Guide to IT Benchmarking

This IDC Perspective discusses the role and value of IT benchmarking in a digital-first economy with a financial management focus. Today, IT leaders are challenged to develop the skills to manage both technological and organizational change. At the same time, they need to control the technology costs associated with existing run costs to support value-added new development and initiatives. IT benchmarking is a key tool to help them address these forces. IT benchmarking requires rigorous evaluation of internal IT services, accurate data collection and analysis, and a strong commitment to continuous improvement. This document provides CIOs, CFOs, CEOs, LOB leaders, function leaders, and IT and business senior leadership teams with insight into using IT benchmarking to drive effective IT financial optimization and IT improvement. IT benchmarking usually starts with identifying critical success areas and meaningful metrics by comparing with industry benchmarks. IT leaders can then identify performance strengths and weaknesses and optimize IT spending. With the acceleration of technology investments, it is more important than ever for IT organizations to communicate the value of IT and provide a financial and business justification for IT effectiveness and act as good financial stewards. The document provides actionable advice for IT leaders to implement the necessary changes."CIOs and IT executives have a unique opportunity to deliver more value to their businesses by rationalizing and optimizing their current technology investments," says Suya Xiong, research manager with IDC's IT Executive Programs (IEP). "IT benchmarking is a practice that reveals opportunities to improve and drives IT organizational change."