Knowledge

IT metrics

By Redaktion techport.ai, IT-Beratung · Last updated on 21 August 2026

A metric is only a metric if it is calculated the same way in every area. An availability figure that IT measures as server uptime and sales measures as the ability to enter an order is not a metric but an argument. This collection contains the metrics we work with in projects, with formula, unit and an interpretation that says what the value means and what it does not.

It is intended as a reference: adopt the definitions in your systems and every analysis starts with the substance rather than with the arithmetic. We deliberately give target values only as orientation, because they depend on industry, size and operating model.

IT Strategy and Steering

Go to the field

Run share of IT cost

Formula: Cost of maintaining current operations divided by total IT cost, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The most important steering figure in IT. It shows how much room for change is left at all. Values above 80 percent mean that without additional budget nothing new can happen.

IT cost per workplace

Formula: Total annual IT cost divided by the number of equipped workplaces
Unit: Euro per year
Interpretation: Only meaningful over time and within the same industry. A low value can mean efficiency or underinvestment, so always read it together with incident and security metrics.

IT cost as a share of revenue

Formula: Total IT cost divided by revenue, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The metric that connects IT with the language of management. The spread between industries is wider than within one, so assess it only against your own trend.

Completion rate of initiatives

Formula: Number of initiatives completed in the year divided by the number of initiatives active in the year, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Shows whether too many initiatives run at once. A low value alongside high activity is the classic sign of missing prioritisation.

Schedule adherence in initiatives

Formula: Number of initiatives completed within 10 percent of the planned date divided by the number of completed initiatives, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measures planning quality, not speed. Persistently low values usually point to over-optimistic capacity assumptions rather than to poor work.

Architecture and Applications

Go to the field

Number of active applications

Formula: Number of applications with at least one active user in the last 90 days
Unit: Count
Interpretation: A base figure for cost, security and effort. A rise without corresponding benefit is a warning sign, as is a large gap to the number of applications being paid for.

Share of applications without vendor support

Formula: Number of applications receiving no security updates divided by the number of active applications, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: A direct risk metric. Every one of these applications needs a dated retirement plan or a documented decision to accept the risk.

Share of applications with a named owner

Formula: Number of applications with a business owner divided by the number of active applications, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Applications without an owner are typically the worst maintained and the hardest to retire. Values below 80 percent indicate a gap in responsibility.

Number of productive interfaces

Formula: Number of actively operated data connections between systems
Unit: Count
Interpretation: If this number grows faster than the number of applications, you get a landscape whose change effort rises disproportionately. From roughly ten to fifteen connections, a central integration solution is worth examining.

Build and Buy

Go to the field

Time to system decision

Formula: Calendar days from approval of the selection initiative to the documented decision
Unit: Days
Interpretation: For departmental systems in the mid-market, 60 to 90 days is usual, considerably more for an ERP. Very short values usually mean the requirements phase was skipped.

Requirements coverage

Formula: Number of must requirements met divided by the number of must requirements, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The basis for scoring in a vendor comparison. Only reliable if every vendor worked through the same script with the same data.

Share of approved tools

Formula: Number of tools introduced through the approval route divided by the number of all newly introduced tools, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Indirectly measures how attractive your approval procedure is. A low value does not mean rule breaking but that the official route is too slow.

Turnaround time for an approval request

Formula: Calendar days from a department's request to the decision, on average
Unit: Days
Interpretation: The most effective lever against shadow IT. Beyond ten days, departments reliably take their own route.

Rollout and Change

Go to the field

Adoption rate after introduction

Formula: Number of active users in the new system divided by the number of intended users, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The only metric that shows whether an introduction succeeded. Measure 30 and 90 days after go-live, separated by role and area.

Migration deviation

Formula: Number of deviating records in the reconciliation after migration divided by the number of migrated records, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Defined as an acceptance criterion before the switch. Deviations have to be assessed per object, because a wrong stock quantity weighs more than a missing note.

Change success rate

Formula: Number of changes without an incident or rollback divided by the number of changes carried out, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measures the quality of the change procedure. Values below 90 percent point to a missing test environment or to change packages that are too large.

Share of incidents caused by changes

Formula: Number of incidents caused by a change divided by the number of all incidents, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Connects operations and projects. A high value is not an argument against changes but for testing, smaller packages and agreed windows.

Operations and Support

Go to the field

Requests per workplace per month

Formula: Number of recorded support requests per month divided by the number of workplaces
Unit: Count
Interpretation: A base figure for staffing support. A sudden rise almost always points to a change, a persistently high value to unresolved causes.

First contact resolution rate

Formula: Number of requests resolved at first contact divided by the number of all requests, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measures knowledge and permissions at first contact. It rises reliably once a knowledge base built from real cases is maintained.

Average resolution time by priority

Formula: Sum of handling times per priority level divided by the number of resolved requests at that level
Unit: Hours
Interpretation: Only meaningful separated by priority. An average across all requests hides exactly the cases that matter.

Availability of critical workflows

Formula: Time during which a critical workflow was usable divided by the agreed service time, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measure from the department's point of view, not the server's. A running server with no way to enter an order is an outage.

Time to detect an incident

Formula: Time from the occurrence of an incident to its detection, on average
Unit: Minutes
Interpretation: A direct measure of how effective monitoring is. If this value matches the time to the first phone call, the monitoring is not working.

Share of devices on the standard build

Formula: Number of devices on a defined standard configuration divided by the number of all managed devices, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Determines the effort for updates and incidents more than the number of devices does. Values below 80 percent turn every mass change into a project.

Data and Information

Go to the field

Duplicate rate

Formula: Number of records identified as duplicates divided by the number of active records, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measure separately per object, typically for customers, suppliers and articles. Values above 5 percent noticeably distort analyses.

Completeness of mandatory fields

Formula: Number of active records with all mandatory fields filled divided by the number of active records, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Placeholders count as not filled. A low value usually indicates that a field is required at the wrong point in the workflow.

Share of automated reports

Formula: Number of reports produced without manual steps divided by the number of regular reports, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Measures the hidden effort in reporting. Every manual step is a source of error and a cover risk.

Effort for the monthly reporting cycle

Formula: Sum of person hours of all contributors for producing the monthly reports
Unit: Hours per month
Interpretation: The figure that makes the business case for reporting. It is regularly underestimated because the effort is spread across several areas.

Share of classified documents

Formula: Number of documents with an assigned document type and retention period divided by the number of stored documents, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: A precondition for deletion and for findable filing. Without classification, everything gets kept indefinitely in case of doubt.

Security and Resilience

Go to the field

Recovery time

Formula: Measured time from the decision to recover to usability of the system in a test
Unit: Hours
Interpretation: Only reliable if measured in a test rather than estimated. It is the basis of every emergency plan and almost always turns out longer in the first exercise.

Success rate of recovery tests

Formula: Number of successful recovery tests divided by the number of tests carried out, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The actual evidence that your backup works. A backup run with a success message does not replace this test.

Multi-factor authentication coverage

Formula: Number of accounts with active multi-factor authentication divided by the number of accounts for which it is intended, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: For anything reachable from outside and for administrator accounts the value should be 100 percent. Every exception needs a documented justification.

Time to deploy critical security updates

Formula: Calendar days from publication to installation, on average per criticality level
Unit: Days
Interpretation: One of the most informative security metrics of all, because attacks predominantly exploit known and unpatched vulnerabilities.

Reporting rate for suspicious messages

Formula: Number of suspicious messages reported divided by the number of test messages sent, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: More important than the click rate. A high reporting rate with a moderate click rate is better than a low click rate with no reports at all.

Share of orphaned accounts

Formula: Number of active accounts with no assigned employee divided by the number of active accounts, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Should be zero. Any value above that is both a security and a cost issue, because orphaned accounts are often still being paid for.

IT Governance and Compliance

Go to the field

Coverage of the register of obligations

Formula: Number of obligations with a named owner and available evidence divided by the number of recorded obligations, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Shows how audit ready you are. Evidence produced only when an audit arrives does not count.

Share of classified AI applications

Formula: Number of AI applications with a documented risk classification divided by the number of recorded AI applications, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: The basis for all duties under the AI Act. AI features that arrived with a new version of existing software have to be recorded too.

Licence deviation

Formula: Number of licences in use minus the number of licences purchased, divided by the number purchased, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Positive values mean exposure to back claims, negative values mean permanently excessive cost. Determine per product and per counting method, and do not forget indirect usage.

Share of tracked contract deadlines

Formula: Number of contracts with a recorded notice period and reminder divided by the number of active IT contracts, times 100
Unit: Percent
Interpretation: Determines whether you can negotiate or only renew. Reminders should fire at least one month before the notice period expires.