To keep up with the fast-paced and ever-changing world of technology, organisations are increasingly relying on IT departments to be the backbone of their business. But with so many different aspects of technology to manage, it can be difficult for managers to know which KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to focus on to measure the success of their IT department.

In this article, we will discuss 28 IT & Technology KPIs that managers should be aware of.

Further Read: Ultimate Guide on KPIs – Incl. List of 200 KPIs for Businesses

What are IT & Technology KPIs?

IT & Technology KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are essential metrics that organisations use to measure the effectiveness and productivity of their IT departments. As technology continues to evolve, organisations must track these KPIs to stay competitive and current. Organisations should carefully monitor these KPIs as they reflect the organisation’s ability to use technology and resources effectively.

These KPIs fall into four main categories: Availability, Performance, Security and Cost Management. Each category is essential in measuring the overall success of an IT department and its ability to achieve its goals.

Why is it essential to track IT & Technology KPIs?

Tracking IT & Technology KPIs is essential for any organisation that relies on technology. These metrics provide managers with critical insight into how their IT departments are performing and where they need to improve. With these metrics, organisations can identify areas of strength and weakness so they can take the necessary steps to improve. By tracking and analysing these KPIs, organisations can make better decisions about their IT departments and ensure they are running efficiently.

Overview of the most critical IT & Technology KPIs

• IT Costs vs. Revenue
• IT Team Turnover
• Total Tickets vs. Open Tickets
• Average Handle Time
• Total Support Tickets
• Open Support Tickets
• Ticket Resolution Time
• Reopened Tickets
• Unsolved Tickets Per Employee
• IT Support Employees per End Users
• Total Projects
• Projects on Budget
• Accuracy of Estimates
• IT ROI
• IT Costs Break Down
• New Developed Features
• Number of Critical Bugs
• Team Attrition Rate
• Uptime %
• Server Downtime
• Security Related Downtime
• Backup Frequency
• Cybersecurity Rating
• Amount Of Intrusion Attempts
• Mean Time To Detect
• Mean Time To Repair
• Average Time Between Failures
• Phishing Test Success Rate

Explanation of 28 important IT & Technology KPIs

IT Costs vs. Revenue

When it comes to tracking budgets and assessing the return on investment (ROI) of technology, measuring IT costs against revenue can be a great KPI. Understanding how each dollar spent on IT contributes to the overall success of an organisation is essential when deciding whether to invest in new technologies, change existing services or continue with business as usual. KPIs need to include detailed information on inputs – such as hardware and software costs – as well as data points associated with revenues generated by improved customer service or cost savings achieved through automation. With this information readily available and easily interpreted by analytical tools, organisations are better equipped to make intelligent decisions about their technology investments.

IT Team Turnover

IT team turnover has become an increasingly pressing issue in the technology industry as organisations strive to stay competitive by hiring the best and brightest talent available. Not only is it difficult to recruit these desirable professionals, but they also need to be retained to ensure the proper execution of key IT goals. Establishing IT KPIs, such as engagement metrics and service usage analytics, can help measure how successful an organisation has been in retaining its IT teams, so that future recruitment efforts can be adjusted accordingly. In today’s war for top tech talent, organisations must prioritise understanding why their IT team turnover rates are high, and seek an effective solution from there.

Total Tickets vs. Open Tickets

Tracking tickets within an IT or technical organisation is an important metric for measuring the effectiveness and performance of the teams involved. Total tickets refer to the number of logged work orders, and open tickets are those that are still in progress. IT management needs to understand both the number of open tickets, which can provide a high-level view of the active workload, and the total number of tickets, which shows their overall performance over a given period. Keeping track of tickets can help identify opportunities to streamline operations and provide evidence for reporting successes.

Average Handle Time

Average handle time is a key metric used by Technology & IT departments to assess service performance. It reflects the efficiency of a customer service representative or technical support agent in accurately addressing customer queries and issues, ultimately helping organisations to ensure that customers have an excellent experience. Factors such as the complexity of each case and access to resources will affect Average Handle Time figures, but understanding this KPI provides important insights into the effectiveness of a technology or IT department in solving problems. With the right strategies in place, Average Handle Time can be effectively improved and provide the data needed to create actionable solutions for businesses seeking sustainability.

Total Support Tickets

One of the most commonly used and easiest to track KPIs is Total Support Tickets; this metric helps measure how well IT resources are managing customer service requests by tracking the total number of tickets created as a result of end-user requests. Total Support Tickets works best when used in conjunction with other metrics such as resolution times, customer satisfaction scores and customer effort scores to provide a comprehensive view of an IT department’s performance. It should also be regularly monitored for changes over time to better understand customer needs and anticipate software or hardware issues that may arise in the future.

Open Support Tickets

Open support tickets are a valuable Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for any medium to large technology or IT organisation. It allows an organisation to track outstanding issues, not only to measure response times, but also to understand the severity of each issue and customer satisfaction levels. It also provides insight into which systems may require additional support resources or which need upgrades, so that budgets can be allocated accordingly. Open support tickets are invaluable, allowing IT teams to analyse their past performance and build models for future performance optimisation.

Ticket Resolution Time

Ticket resolution time is an important Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for many technologies and IT departments. Measuring this KPI helps management gauge how effective their team and systems are at providing effective customer service. Implementing a tool that tracks resolution time can give managers insight into whether their process or dispatch rules are meeting customer needs. Knowing the average resolution time allows them to compare trends over time, identify areas where they need to devote more resources, and help set appropriate expected standards for the team. Accurate monitoring of ticket resolution times is key in any Technology & IT environment – it allows you to quickly assess how resources are being used and how well customer needs are being met.

Reopened Tickets

Reopened tickets are an important metric for technology and IT teams to consider when evaluating the performance of their departments. This is because reopened tickets provide valuable insight into how efficiently problems are being resolved, allowing teams to identify where improvements can be made. They also show how well team members are communicating with customers who have issues that need to be resolved. Knowing how often tickets are opened and then reopened not only helps IT and technology leaders better understand the level of customer service they’re delivering, but also reveals any systemic issues that may be preventing problems from being solved on the first try. In other words, metrics such as reopened tickets can help IT and technology teams implement effective improvement strategies that ultimately lead to long-term success for any organisation.

Unsolved Tickets Per Employee

The use of technology and IT metrics is a valuable way to track performance in the workplace. One such metric is ‘open tickets per agent’, which helps managers measure how efficiently their team members are responding to customer requests. By taking the total number of open tickets at any given time and dividing it by the number of people assigned to that task, organisations can get an accurate picture of how many tickets they’re successfully handling. This data can be used to make business decisions that increase efficiency or identify areas where additional resources may be needed. When implemented thoughtfully, open tickets per agent metrics can provide important insights into workflow productivity and help managers improve the way their teams operate.

IT Support Employees per End Users

IT support staff are an essential part of keeping technology and IT systems running smoothly. As a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), it is important to know the ratio of IT support staff to end users in order to properly budget resources. This allows you to understand how many resources are needed to ensure that each end user gets the help they need when dealing with technology or a technical issue. For example, if there is one IT support person for every fifty end users, adjustments may need to be made if more help is needed. Knowing the ratio can also help increase efficiency and effectiveness, while reducing response time and stress on IT staff. Overall, tracking the number of IT support staff per end user can help ensure that your organisation is running efficiently through adequate availability of technicians.

Total Projects

Total projects is a key performance indicator (KPI) used in the technology and IT industries. It measures the number of projects completed by an individual or team over a specified period of time, either quarterly, annually or over the entire history of an organisation. Depending on the size and focus of an organisation, the total projects KPI can evaluate a range of activities from software development to the implementation of new processes and procedures. Tracking this metric can provide useful macro-level insight into a team’s productivity and impact, helping managers gauge their team’s overall effectiveness and identify opportunities for improvement.

Projects on Budget

All technology and information technology projects need to keep track of budgets. Organisations need to be able to understand the full cost of their operations and how it affects their bottom line. Budgeting is one of the most important key performance indicators when it comes to tracking the success of a technology or IT project. Keeping projects within budget is critical to staying within approved allocation levels, finding potential cost savings and effectively meeting project timelines. This type of planning not only provides organisations with a detailed financial outlook for their resources, but also creates an environment where quality products are delivered in the most efficient timeframe possible.

Accuracy of Estimates

In today’s environment, it is increasingly important for organisations to measure the accuracy of their estimates for IT projects. This means that tracking KPIs, or key performance indicators, such as the accuracy of estimates, can provide great insight into how well an organisation is staying on top of IT trends and strategies. The ability to accurately measure (and monitor) this KPI can help ensure that all departments are taking the right steps to achieve their desired goals on time. Forecasting accuracy is a critical component of any successful IT strategy and should be considered when evaluating an organisation’s overall performance.

IT ROI

As organisations continue to invest heavily in IT infrastructure, IT professionals need to understand the concept of IT ROI (Return on Investment) and how it relates to KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). Generally speaking, IT ROI measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s investment in technology against its objectives at various levels of the business. It answers important questions such as “Are we investing too much?” or “Are we getting enough return on our investment? On the other hand, KPIs are used to measure and monitor various metrics associated with technology initiatives, such as customer satisfaction, technological advances, marketing results and cost effectiveness. Both IT ROI and KPIs enable organisations to make more informed decisions when investing in new technologies and to evaluate their performance over time to ensure that their goals are being met.

IT Costs Break Down

Depending on the size and complexity of an organisation’s IT infrastructure, IT costs can vary widely and need to be aligned with the organisation’s overall business objectives. Without sufficient knowledge of these KPIs – such as cost per desktop, customer analytics and system uptime – new deployments may be overly burdensome, potentially straining cash flow or leading to inadequate service levels. By understanding how much IT costs, what KPIs are required for the business to function optimally, and consulting regularly with expert partners, organisations can ensure that their technology investments are helping to deliver higher productivity at a lower total cost.

New Developed Features

The use of technology and IT has led to a wide range of new developments that are essential in today’s fast-paced digital world. From automated customer service and improved security systems to the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, these technological advances have revolutionised the way many aspects of our daily lives work. Technology and IT KPIs explain how these new developments have helped to achieve business goals, improve performance, drive innovation, increase user engagement and provide valuable insights while improving organisational efficiency. As technology continues to evolve at an exponential rate, organisations must remain agile by emphasising the effective use of modern IT trends as part of their KPIs for success.

Number of Critical Bugs

As technology and IT become more critical to the way we do business, a metric has emerged to measure the effectiveness of these systems. Critical defects provide an indicator of how well these systems are running and being managed. When a bug is deemed critical, it means that the system in question is no longer performing as it should and needs to be fixed as soon as possible to prevent further disruption and loss of data. By tracking the number of critical bugs, organisations can monitor IT performance from a technical perspective and produce better end products for their customers. Critical bug metrics give them the valuable data they need to make smarter decisions about product design and maintenance requirements, enabling a more informed development process.

Team Attrition Rate

Measuring and managing team turnover is an important part of business success. Team turnover is a key performance indicator (KPI) for IT and technology departments that can be used to assess the effectiveness of recruitment and retention strategies. Organisations need this type of information to understand how well they are meeting their talent acquisition needs in the workplace and to track their overall performance. By using team attrition data, organisations can optimise their recruitment process and improve employee satisfaction, resulting in maximised operational efficiency and increased productivity. As such, the use of the team turnover rate KPI is invaluable when it comes to maintaining business viability.

Uptime %

Uptime % is an important KPI for technology and IT professionals. It reflects the percentage of time that a service or system is available, which is essential for any business that relies on these systems. Technology and IT teams take great care to ensure a high uptime % because when systems are down, businesses can miss out on customers and production opportunities. In addition to measuring uptime %, IT professionals also work hard to identify problems before they cause outages, so that the necessary adjustments can be made proactively rather than reactively, while still minimising downtime. Ultimately, this performance metric serves as an indicator of the success of the technology and IT departments.

Server Downtime

Server uptime measures the reliability of an IT system and can be used to assess the reliability of an organisation’s technology components. Server downtime can be caused by many different events, from routine maintenance to unforeseen circumstances such as cyber-attacks or computer failure. Whatever the cause, server downtime means lost productivity and revenue, so organisations tend to invest heavily in efforts to reduce and prevent it. This can include improved security protocols, more reliable hardware, better monitoring services and backup plans to minimise the impact of any outages that do occur. By regularly monitoring server downtime, organisations can ensure they have the best possible IT infrastructure, while saving time and money.

Security-Related Downtime

Security-related downtime provides valuable insight into an organisation’s security processes and how well the system is designed, monitored and managed. Security-related downtime can refer to a variety of different types of incidents, from unexpected production outages to malicious attacks from outside sources. By tracking these incidents and taking appropriate preventative action, organisations can ensure that their technology systems remain safe and reliable for their customers. With the right data-driven approach, organisations can reduce their risk of being exposed to devastating security breaches, while meaningfully improving their customers’ online experience.

Backup Frequency

Backup frequency may sound simple, but it can sometimes be a good indicator of how well important data is protected. This practice helps organisations ensure that their data is safe, as all company data must be backed up on a regular basis. For organisations that rely heavily on technology, backup frequency can prevent painful technical outages that can result from data breaches or hardware failures. In addition to its security applications, backup frequency can also give IT administrators better visibility into their environment, allowing them to understand the traffic on their networks and quickly identify potential problems.

Cybersecurity Rating

Cybersecurity rating has become a popular technical indicator and key performance indicator (KPI) for IT departments around the world. Organisations measure their performance to ensure their cyber defences are keeping pace with the latest threats and attacks, while also focusing on areas that need improvement. Using data points such as policy audits, security patches and encryption strength, Cybersecurity Ratings provide visibility into an organisation’s overall posture. It facilitates better strategic decision-making by providing stakeholders with actionable insights into current online security postures. By defining what needs further protection, organisations can leverage best practices when updating architecture or dealing with more serious threats. With a holistic understanding of their systems and networks, they are better prepared for future malicious intrusions.

Amount Of Intrusion Attempts

Intrusion attempts, also known as security breach attempts, are a key performance indicator (KPI) when it comes to technology and IT. An intrusion attempt occurs when an attacker or malicious actor actively attempts to penetrate a network or application with the intent to steal confidential data or disrupt normal operations. It is important for technology and IT teams to be aware of these attempts and monitor them closely to ensure that the system remains secure. The number of successful and unsuccessful intrusion attempts should be tracked and reported regularly to identify any vulnerabilities that require additional protection and to improve overall IT security policies. Trend analysis can then be performed to determine if further intervention is required to mitigate security risks.

Mean Time To Detect

Mean Time To Detect (MTTD) measures how long it takes for an incident to be identified, logged and remediated. This important measurement is key to helping IT teams quickly diagnose any new issues or problems that arise, providing them with the information they need to make the right decisions quickly and proactively. By measuring MTTD, IT teams can more effectively plan how to adapt their systems to provide a better user experience and identify areas for improvement.

Mean Time To Repair

Measuring Mean Time To Repair (MTTR) is a KPI that is becoming increasingly important to organisations. MTTR allows companies to measure the time it takes for a technician to resolve their repair requests. Traditional methods of measuring customer satisfaction have been found to be inadequate for ensuring customer loyalty and improving the customer experience. This has led to the adoption of proactive customer service with a focus on reducing repair times as much as possible. Companies that have embraced this KPI have seen tangible results in terms of customer retention, staff efficiency and cost savings. As such, MTTR should be seen by every business as a key indicator of success and staying ahead of the competition.

Average Time Between Failures

When it comes to assessing the reliability of complex systems and equipment, understanding their Average Time Between Failures (ATBF) is critical. In many cases, the ATBF can be determined experimentally by subjecting the system or device to rigorous testing and measuring how long it remains in operation. This statistic provides great insight into the reliability of that particular system or device, allowing businesses and consumers to make informed decisions when deciding which options best suit their needs. Although a higher ATBF doesn’t necessarily guarantee the best performance from a system or piece of equipment, it does serve as a rough guide to reliability that can be used to compare different models.

Phishing Test Success Rate

When it comes to defending against cybercrime, organisations have a choice. Invest in cybersecurity technology or increase user awareness. Recent studies suggest that phishing tests are an effective way to protect organisations by increasing the likelihood of successful attacks. Some organisations have seen success rates as high as 95%, demonstrating the potential for security teams to prevent intrusions. As more organisations invest in employee training and phishing testing, we can expect these metrics to continue to improve and shape the future of security for both businesses and individuals.