Singapore’s IT performance measurements call for a massive revamp

4 in 10 Singapore executives are having problems linking IT and business.

In a release, HP today unveiled research that reveals a growing need for IT performance measurements to be more automated and more closely aligned to organizational objectives in Singapore.

According to a study from Coleman Parkes Research, commissioned by HP,(1) nearly all (99 percent) business and technology executives surveyed in Singapore recognize IT performance measurement as a critical tool. However, less than half (48 percent) of the respondents said they are using this measurement data to help inform decision making.

Here’s more:

It is critical for business and governments to have real-time visibility into and control over the IT that underpins many of the innovations they provide to their customers and citizens. These include online payments, mobile solutions and social media services. Organizations need to manage not only the delivery of the services but have the right insight to balance resources and IT investments.

More than 70 percent of executives believe IT should be measured against their organization’s core performance metrics. However, the survey revealed that the most common assessments of IT performance today in Singapore are traditional IT metrics, such as “quality of service” (65 percent) and “speed of ticket resolution” (63 percent).

Meanwhile, business-focused metrics, such as “cost” and “customer satisfaction” are used by only 59 percent and 29 percent of respondents, respectively.

As organizations use IT to communicate and deliver services to customers and citizens, it is critical that IT performance is measured against business metrics to ensure alignment with an organization’s objectives.

The research also suggests that information silos are hindering alignment between IT and the organization. Only 47 percent of Singapore executives said that IT performance information is shared widely across the organization. This figure underscores a deficiency in the important communications link between IT and the business.

The study also highlights a need for increased IT automation. More than 80 percent of executives in Singapore said that manual processes are part of their IT monitoring. Among those respondents, 71 percent said manual processes add time to or delay valuable information and feedback to the organization. These delays—combined with insufficient IT measurement—further hamper organizational agility.

“As IT is increasingly expected to align with business objectives and to respond quickly to changing priorities, IT leaders need ways of monitoring and reporting performance that is relevant, insightful and timely,” said Paul Muller, IT Management Evangelist, Software, Enterprise Business, HP.

“IT can achieve this by automating manual processes and focusing on how IT contributes to more strategic measures such as customer satisfaction, cost and revenue growth.”