IT Key Metrics Data 2018: Key Infrastructure

Measures: IT Service Desk Analysis: Multiyear

Published: 11 December 2017 ID: G00341784

Analyst(s): Linda Hall, Eric Stegman, Shreya Futela, Disha Gupta

This research contains high-level IT Service Desk cost efficiency and support
staff productivity ratios. Information provided was collected between 2013
and 2017 from a global audience.

Key Findings
■ The 2017 average annual IT service desk cost per contact is $16.30.
■ The 2017 average annual contacts per IT service desk FTE is 6,379.
■ The 2017 average IT service desk first contact resolution rate is 70.6%.
■ Complexity and demand elements should always be considered within the context of a
performance evaluation as they are the most fundamental drivers of a cost profile.

Recommendations
■ Use this research as a source of comparative data by unit supported and cost category to
assist CIOs and IT leaders with fact-based decisions related to investments, planning, ongoing
operational assumptions and identification of quantitative best practices.
■ In addition to environment scale, these metrics should be considered in tandem with service
level requirements, the quality/satisfaction levels achieved as well as within the context of IT
complexity and the state of the IT-business environment (past, present & future).
■ Use of this information should be considered the beginning of an ongoing measurement
program. Organizations should consider investing in customized, refined, prescriptive or in-
depth benchmarking engagements on a recurring basis to support the budget cycle, or
whenever making significant, fact-based IT or business decisions. The information published in
this research can be used during the time periods in-between these comprehensive
assessments to inform business and IT planning assumptions.

Table of Contents
 Analysis.................................................................................................................................................. 3
Overview.......................................................................................................................................... 3
IT Key Metrics Data Research Background.................................................................................3
IT Key Metrics Data Key Infrastructure Measures Overview......................................................... 4
Using This Research................................................................................................................... 5
Gartner IT Key Metrics Data Series............................................................................................. 6
IT Key Metrics Data Source........................................................................................................ 7
Data Variations........................................................................................................................... 7
IT Service Desk Analysis Framework.................................................................................................7
Non-personnel Costs..................................................................................................................8
Personnel Costs/FTE.................................................................................................................. 9
Workload........................................................................................................................................10
Annual IT Service Desk Cost per Contact....................................................................................... 10
Annual Contacts per End-User....................................................................................................... 11
IT Service Desk Cost Distribution....................................................................................................12
IT Service Desk Spending as a Percent of Total IT Spending...........................................................13
IT Service Desk FTEs as a Percent of Total IT FTEs.........................................................................15
Salaries and Benefits Cost per IT Service Desk FTE........................................................................16
IT Service Desk FTE Distribution: Insourced Versus Contractor....................................................... 18
Annual Contacts per IT Service Desk FTE.......................................................................................19
First Contact Resolution Rate......................................................................................................... 19
Abandonment Rate........................................................................................................................ 20
Speed to Answer............................................................................................................................21
Conclusions....................................................................................................................................22
Appendix 1: Total IT Spending Definition......................................................................................... 23
What the IT Spending/Budget Includes, From a Resource or Cost Perspective.........................23
Appendix 2: Exploring Gartner's Prescriptive Benchmark Analytics Capabilities.............................. 25
Gartner Benchmark Analytics and Case Studies....................................................................... 26
Gartner Recommended Reading.......................................................................................................... 26

List of Tables

Table 1. ITKMD 2018 Key Infrastructure Measures: Document Index...................................................... 5

List of Figures

Page 2 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Figure 1. Gartner Benchmark Analytics: IT Service Desk Consensus Model............................................8
Figure 2. Annual IT Service Desk Cost per Contact, 2013-2017........................................................... 11
Figure 3. Annual Contacts per End-User, 2013-2017............................................................................12
Figure 4. Distribution of IT Service Desk Costs, 2013-2017.................................................................. 13
Figure 5. IT Service Desk Spending as a Percent of Total IT Spending, 2013-2017...............................15
Figure 6. IT Service Desk FTEs as a Percent of Total IT FTEs, 2013-2017.............................................16
Figure 7. Salaries and Benefits Cost per IT Service Desk FTE, 2013-2017............................................17
Figure 8. Distribution of IT Service Desk FTE: Insourced Versus Contractor, 2013-2017....................... 18
Figure 9. Annual Contacts per IT Service Desk FTE, 2013-2017...........................................................19
Figure 10. First Contact Resolution Rate, 2013-2017........................................................................... 20
Figure 11. Abandonment Rate, 2013-2017.......................................................................................... 21
Figure 12. Speed to Answer, 2013-2017.............................................................................................. 22

Analysis
Overview
Clients improve business performance by benchmarking their spending and best practices against
Gartner’s IT performance repository, the largest in the industry, drawing on over 5,000 IT
benchmarks a year. Gartner Benchmark Analytics’ IT Service Desk Assessments examine IT
efficiency and effectiveness with respect to the provisioning of remote Tier 0/Tier 1 support provided
to end-users by the technical support centers (for example, network, data center, end-user and
consolidated). These assessments focus on the cost efficiency in terms of cost per contact within
the context of unique operating environments.

This research provides an overview of the Gartner Benchmark Analytics’ consensus model and
high-level averages from our global cost benchmark observations. The averages only represent a
subset of the metrics and prescriptive analysis capability available through Gartner Benchmark
Analytics.

The metrics explored include average cost efficiency and support productivity metrics in terms of
contacts. These database averages do not account for individual variations of service quality,
complexity or demand which may be justified by specific business needs.

IT Key Metrics Data Research Background

The Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (ITKMD) series of reports was established in 1995 to support
strategic IT investment decisions, and today the annual publication delivers more than 2,000
metrics, across 90 documents and covers 21 different industries. Allowing you to rapidly identify
high-level IT spending, staffing, technology and performance trends.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 3 of 28

 In an ongoing effort to study, analyze, evolve and improve enterprise performance, Gartner drives a
number of initiatives to continuously capture IT data and information from the greater Gartner client
and non-client community to support the growth of the database, the industry insight and the
published IT metrics series. We invite you to participate in and contribute to the study to represent
your vertical industry and region. The Gartner client community provides an exemplary window into
the global IT community, and, therefore, your participation is essential to this publication series.

To contribute to Gartner ITKMD research, start a survey and represent your industry and region.
Surveys are available at: gartner.com/surveys.

IT Key Metrics Data Key Infrastructure Measures Overview

This research contains relevant database averages and ranges from a subset of metrics and
prescriptive engagements available through Gartner Benchmark Analytics consulting-based
capabilities. While database averages are indicative of enterprise IT spending levels, actual
spending will vary around these averages when considering the variations of unique competitive
landscapes, niche vertical industry subsectors, business scale, and IT complexity and demand,
which may be justified by specific enterprise needs. These factors typically drive the context of an
IT cost or performance evaluation and often dictate long-term support requirements. Ultimately,
business value IT spending and staffing data should be used as a high-level directional indicator
and in the creation of planning assumptions — not viewed as a prescriptive benchmark in which
significant budget decisions are made.

For detailed information and metrics specific to each of the ITKMD Key Infrastructure Measures
documents, see Table 1 or review "IT Key Metrics Data 2018: Index of Published Documents and
Metrics" for a comprehensive list of all available IT Key Metrics Data 2018 research.

Page 4 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Table 1. ITKMD 2018 Key Infrastructure Measures: Document Index

Document Title Current Year RN# Multiyear RN#

Windows Server Analysis G00341771 G00341772

Linux x86 Server Analysis G00341773 G00341774

Unix Server Analysis G00341775 G00341776

Mainframe Analysis G00341777 G00341778

Storage Analysis G00341779 G00341780

End-User Computing Analysis G00341781 G00341782

IT Service Desk Analysis G00341783 G00341784

Voice and Data Network Analysis G00341785 G00341786

Local-Area Data Network Analysis G00341787 G00341788

Wide-Area Data Network Analysis G00341789 G00341790

Voice Premise Technology Analysis G00341791 G00341792

Wide-Area Voice Network Analysis G00341793 G00341794

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Using This Research

This research was commissioned to help IT and enterprise leaders compare the cost efficiency and
support staff productivity level of their IT infrastructure and operations environments with that of
other organizations supporting similar IT operations. As with any published data, many potential
interpretations and analyses exist. The dataset represents a mix of organizations of different sizes
and vertical industry segmentations.

The industry-specific spending profiles published here represent key metrics data collected directly
from CIOs, CTOs, IT leaders and practitioners with respect to their organization’s IT investment
levels and future IT budgets. Most IT organizations follow an annual IT budgeting process and
adjust their budgets based on changing economic and business conditions. In many organizations,
IT spending levels are reviewed and revised on a quarterly or even monthly basis. Therefore,
published IT spending benchmarks represent a "snapshot in time," and do not necessarily indicate
what enterprises will or have ultimately spent on IT in the coming year or in the past.

Although the published figures represent what Gartner calls a "stalking horse" (that is, a position
resulting from analysis of data that represents trends and results), each organization should assess
its own situation carefully, and should not arbitrarily change to conform to published results (which

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 5 of 28

 do not necessarily represent best practices). For example, without the context of business service
level/quality requirements and satisfaction levels, the metric of cost per unit supported does not, by
itself, provide valid comparative information that should be used to allocate IT or business
resources. Moreover, IT spending statistics alone do not measure IT effectiveness and are not a
gauge of successful IT organizations. They simply provide an indicative view of average costs in
general without regard to complexity or demand.

While the technology-specific cost metrics published here provide a high-level overview of cost
efficiency and productivity levels. Many organizations feel the need to further evaluate their
organization as compared to their niche competitive landscape when benchmarking. Many firms
decide that a formal benchmarking exercise — one that is highly customized and prescriptive for
the individual firm — is a natural follow-on to using the results presented in this research and in
Gartner IT Key Metrics Data publications. In such exercises, companies can be more assured that
they are getting an "apples to apples" benchmark with a more refined peer group, and that the
benchmark takes into consideration variations in complexity (which includes the elements of
industry, enterprise size, platforms, applications and other key variables).

Gartner recommends that organizations consider an investment in such customized or in-depth

benchmarking engagements to support the budget cycle, significant IT or enterprise changes, or
whenever making significant IT-cost-based decisions. The information published in this research
can be used during the time periods in-between prescriptive or consulting-led benchmark
engagements.

To explore Gartner's consulting-based prescriptive benchmark analytics capabilities, see the

Appendix.

Gartner IT Key Metrics Data Series

Depending on your subscription level for Gartner services, some clients have access to the Gartner
ITKMD publication series from gartner.com, select "Explore," "Metrics & Tools," and "IT Key Metrics
Data."

ITKMD is part of the Gartner Benchmark Analytics range of solutions and offers a macro level look
at Gartner's global database of comprehensive cost and performance measures. ITKMD provides
you with immediate access to authoritative data on IT staffing and investment levels, as well as key
technology cost and performance metrics. These metrics enable improved budget and investment
decisions with regard to the changing environments of business and IT.

The ITKMD annual publication series contains more than 2,000 IT metrics published by way of 90
Gartner Benchmark Analytics research notes. In addition to the key IT financial metrics in this
research, a variety of IT staffing and productivity metrics are available in the areas listed below.
Some reports show vertical industry tendencies, while others tend to be cross-industry
perspectives. Many of the metrics show averages by revenue scale or size of IT infrastructure
environment supported (e.g., number of server operating system instances, number of installed
MIPS, number of personal computing devices).

These key metrics reports are broadly defined by five key areas of the IT portfolio:

Page 6 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 ■ Key Industry Measures. Enterprise-level total IT spending and staffing metrics across 21
vertical industries, including current-year and multiyear averages. Metrics based on enterprise
size in terms of annual revenues are often provided.
■ Key Infrastructure Measures. IT functional area-specific unit cost, productivity and
performance measures for the IT infrastructure environments, including current-year and
multiyear averages for the Windows server, Linux x86 server, Unix server, mainframe, storage,
end-user computing, IT service desk, data and voice network environments. Metrics by
workload size are often provided.
■ Key Applications Measures. Application development and application support spending and
staffing metrics, project measures, life cycle phases, productivity and quality measures (current
year and multiyear).
■ Key IT Security Measures. Enterprise-level total spending and staffing measures.
■ Key Outsourcing Measures. Enterprise-level total spending and staffing measures.

For a complete outline of all related published research in the series, see "IT Key Metrics Data 2018:
Index of Published Documents and Metrics."

IT Key Metrics Data Source

Information for the ITKMD infrastructure measures reports is continuously collected worldwide via
direct fact-finding in our many benchmarking and consulting engagements.

Data Variations
The data collected each year may have a different distribution of organization sizes, IT workloads
and geographies. While we do group similar companies based on IT workload within each of the
individual service categories, there is always some diversity in businesses represented. For this
reason, there may be minor or significant fluctuations in metrics from year to year.

IT Service Desk Analysis Framework

The scope of the IT service desk environment analysis includes costs/FTE with regards to the
receipt and/or placement of technical support calls or contacts to a predetermined group of Tier 0/
Tier 1 support staff who support end-users of IT services.

Annual IT Service Desk Costs

■ IT service desk cost includes the annual operational expense, lease, depreciation, maintenance,
installation and taxes, as appropriate, for all hardware, software, transmission, disaster
recovery, occupancy, as defined below in Non-personnel Costs, in addition to annual personnel
costs as defined below in Personnel Costs/FTEs.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 7 of 28

 Figure 1 below outlines the Gartner Benchmark Analytics chart of accounts or consensus cost
model for the IT service desk environment. This is the chart of accounts which was leveraged for the
IT Key Metrics Data IT Service Desk analysis.

Figure 1. Gartner Benchmark Analytics: IT Service Desk Consensus Model

Source: Gartner Benchmark Analytics (December 2017)

Non-personnel Costs
Non-personnel costs include in-house related costs as well as fees for third party and outsource
contracts.

Hardware is defined as:

■ PBX, automated call distribution (ACD) switches, handsets, headsets and voice mail, interactive
voice response (IVR) as well as computer telephony integration (CTI).
■ Service Desk Client Devices: These are defined as hardware/software, residing on the agent's
desk, used to provide support to customers.

Page 8 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 ■ Service Desk Servers: These are servers used explicitly by the IT service desk to provide
support services, including servers hosting IT service desk applications as well as dedicated
file/print infrastructure.

Software is defined as:

■ Includes software for functions such as email response management, expert knowledge tools,
interactive chat, problem management, quality management, web self-service, workforce/
workflow management and contact management.

Transmission is defined as:

■ Inbound 800, dedicated trunking, local service, outbound long distance, internet access (e.g., IT
service desk portal), networking between IT service desks.

Disaster Recovery is defined as:

■ Annual costs of hardware, software, connectivity, occupancy and contracts specifically

dedicated to disaster recovery for IT service desk.

Occupancy is defined as:

■ Occupancy costs should include fully burdened costs for the facilities being used by the staff
supporting the IT service desk environment. Some examples include office space, furniture,
electricity, maintenance, property taxes, security and office supplies.

Personnel Costs/FTE
Personnel costs/FTE include in-house and contract personnel costs/full-time equivalents supporting
the following IT functions:

Operations/Maintenance

■ Agents: The primary resource for handling service requests, incidents, and inquiries at the
service desk. Agents are often referred to as customer service representatives or IT service
desk staff (first line). Also includes any "second line agents" or time spent by team leaders or
supervisors performing this function.

Engineering/Technical Services

■ Contact Data Management and Analysis: This includes staff having responsibility for monitoring
and tracking trends in contacts, and recommending solutions that can be implemented by the
service desk. This also includes monitoring of key service desk statistics such as peak usage
times to manage service desk efficiency.
■ Infrastructure Application Development: This includes activities related to the development of
scripts or other programming necessary to operate or customize the service desk toolset.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 9 of 28

 ■ Quality Assurance: Monitoring and reviewing of contacts to ensure compliance with procedures
and best practices, and to search for ways to improve services.

Planning and Process Management

■ This includes systems research and planning, process development and management, disaster
recovery and project management.

Services Administration

■ This includes product management, budget, chargeback and service level reporting, training (IT
and end-user training), asset management (procurement, asset and configuration tracking) as
well as account management (both business unit relationship and contract and service provider
management).

Management and Administration:

■ IT Administration provides direct administrative and clerical support to all organizations related
to the technology environment.
■ Management: This area includes time spent by management personnel on supervisory,
departmental administration, or strategy related tasks.

Workload
Total annual contacts are defined as:

■ Annual quantity of inbound contacts that were serviced by the IT service desk, excluding
abandoned contacts. This includes both automated contacts as well as agent handled
contacts.
■ Contacts include voice, interactive voice response (IVR), email, web (agent-handled and self-
service), automated password resets, chat, paper and fax inbound contacts. Please not that
contacts involving inquires and status of issues are included.

Annual IT Service Desk Cost per Contact

Annual IT service desk cost per contact (Figure 2) is often used to evaluate the relative cost
efficiency level of the overall environment.

This metric should not only be considered within the context of business requirements and scale,
but also with regards to productivity, service levels and the level of automation.

Total annual contacts are defined in the workload section above.

Page 10 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Figure 2. Annual IT Service Desk Cost per Contact, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Annual Contacts per End-User

In addition to cost efficiency, staff productivity and service-level metrics, it is important to
understand the level of demand generated as it relates to the end-users supported. Annual contacts
per end-user (Figure 3) provides insight into the average agent supported demand generated per
end-user for the current year sample.

End-User is defined as:

■ The count of people that may be using the technology supported, regardless of whether or not
they are employees (contractors or consultants may be included in this count).

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 11 of 28

 Figure 3. Annual Contacts per End-User, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

IT Service Desk Cost Distribution

The distribution of IT service desk costs provides an understanding of how costs are dispersed
within the IT service desk environment. This distribution helps to outline non-personnel versus
personnel related cost allocations as defined in the IT Service Desk Framework.

The degree in which an organization outsources can play a significant role in altering this distribution
as personnel costs are typically the primary expense.

Note, the disaster recovery category accounts for less than 0.5% of the total costs and is therefore
included within the unallocated category in Figure 4.

Page 12 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Figure 4. Distribution of IT Service Desk Costs, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

IT Service Desk Spending as a Percent of Total IT Spending

IT service desk spending as a percent of total IT spending (Figure 5) is helpful in understanding the
relative level of IT spending to support the environment from a total IT portfolio perspective.

Unlike all other metrics in this report, both the total IT spending and the IT service desk spending for
this metric are based on a “cash flow view” and include capital spending plus operational expenses
and exclude depreciation and amortization.

This is a change from how this metric was calculated in previous years when it was based on an
“accounting view” and included operational expenses and depreciation and amortization but
excluded capital costs. Therefore the historical information for the years 2013 to 2016 in Figure 5
have not been converted and are still based on an “accounting view”, as Gartner believes that in the
long run these two methods produce similar results.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 13 of 28

 Total IT spending is defined as:

"The best estimate of total spending at the end of the 12-month budget period for IT to support
the enterprise. IT spending/budget can come from anywhere in the enterprise that incurs IT
costs, and it is not limited to the IT organization. It includes estimates by enterprises on
decentralized IT spending and or "shadow IT." It is calculated on an annualized 'cash flow view'
basis, and, therefore, contains capital spending and operational expenses, but not depreciation
or amortization."

From a resource or cost perspective, IT spending includes hardware, software, personnel

(including contractors, travel, benefits and training), outsourcing (external IT services like
consulting, system integration, data and voice transmission, software as a service,
infrastructure as a service), disaster recovery and occupancy costs associated with supporting
IT within the enterprise. Costs also include all taxes (except value-added tax where it is
recovered or refunded to the organization).

From an IT functional area or activity perspective, IT spending includes the data center (for
example, mainframes, servers, storage and facilities), end-user computing devices (for example,
desktops, laptops, tablets, thin clients and smartphones), voice and data networks (including,
but not limited to, voice and data transmissions, fixed and mobile telephony, and internet
access services), IT service desk, and applications (for example, development and
maintenance). It also includes IT support functions, such as the office of the CIO; supervisory
management; finance and administrative costs, such as purchasing; asset management;
process management; and marketing of IT services.

A fuller definition of what is included/excluded from total IT spending can be found in the Appendix.

This metric should be considered within the context of the overall technology & sourcing strategy.
i.e., as the technology environment plays a lesser or greater role in mission-critical business
processes, it will play a smaller or larger role as a percentage of the total IT spending portfolio. As
you leverage contract versus insourced labor, or enter into outsourcing arrangements for various
third party services, your cost structure changes and therefore can impact your total allocation as a
percentage of the total available IT budget. It is not uncommon to reduce spending in one
technology tower only to have the follow on effect of passing those costs off to another technology
tower. By monitoring investments across all technology towers, these cost transfers within IT can be
more visible.

Page 14 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Figure 5. IT Service Desk Spending as a Percent of Total IT Spending, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

IT Service Desk FTEs as a Percent of Total IT FTEs

IT service desk FTEs as percent of total IT FTEs (Figure 6) is a measure of IT support intensity from
a human capital perspective.

IT service desk personnel includes in-house and contract full-time equivalents supporting the
following IT functions: operations/maintenance, engineering technical services, planning and
process management, services administration, management and administration as defined in the IT
Service Desk Framework.

IT Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) is defined as:

■ An IT FTE represents the logical staff to support functions performed by the physical staff,
measured in calendar time. This includes all staffing levels within the organization from
managers and project leaders to daily operations personnel. This includes both insourced FTE
and contract FTE. This excludes staff of a third-party vendor, who are not operationally
managed by in-house staff, but managed by service-level agreements.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 15 of 28

 Understanding the relative level of IT support dedicated to an IT environment can also assist in
identifying whether staff size is appropriate. This should be considered within the context of the
overall sourcing strategy and future state objectives. Variables to consider in tandem with this
metric include: IT staffing distribution: contractors versus insourced FTE, the percentage of the
environment outsourced (supported by a third party), as well as the evolving business requirements.

Figure 6. IT Service Desk FTEs as a Percent of Total IT FTEs, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Salaries and Benefits Cost per IT Service Desk FTE

Salaries and benefits cost per IT service desk FTE (Figure 7) provides a range of the average annual
salaries and benefits for an IT service desk FTE. This cost will vary depending on geographic
location, experience, and expertise of the staff as well as depending on whether they are a
contractor or insourced FTE.

Annual personnel costs are defined as:

■ For in-house staff, this cost should include salary (including overtime pay), benefits and “other”
employee costs such as travel and training. The “benefit load” should include costs for
bonuses, paid holidays, vacation, medical/dental coverage, life and accident insurance,

Page 16 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 retirement plans, stock plans, disability, social security, unemployment compensation,
dependent care, tuition reimbursement and employee assistance programs (for
example, physical exams, exercise programs and similar costs).
■ In all cost categories, include all applicable taxes (that is, federal, state, local and VAT). Exclude
VAT only when it is recovered or refunded to the organization.
■ Do not include internal “cross charges” and corporate allocations related to expenses such as
reductions in workforce, redundancy, relocations, retirement, human resources and
chairperson's salary etc.
■ For contractors and consultants, include all compensation that was paid directly to the
individual or agency.

This measure is best used within the context of the skill requirements for the various roles with in
the technology environment depending on the environment structure and level of complexity. What
percentage of the environment FTE are management versus operations versus engineering? What
services/roles are outsourced to a third party? How do personnel costs look as compared to
productivity and service levels? How does the use of contractors impact your average cost? Best in
class organizations understand these contextual aspects as a backdrop for leveraging these high-
level averages.

Figure 7. Salaries and Benefits Cost per IT Service Desk FTE, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 17 of 28

 IT Service Desk FTE Distribution: Insourced Versus Contractor
The distribution of IT service desk support staff between insourced and contract FTE (Figure 8) can
help provide a view of the IT service desk staffing strategy.

Insourced IT FTE is defined as:

■ Full-time equivalents who are employed by the IT organization (excluding contractors and
consultants). This includes all full time and part time FTE.

Contract IT FTE is defined as:

■ Contract full-time equivalents are supplemental to your staff and “operationally” managed by in-
house staff. This includes all full time, part time, and temporary contract FTE.

IT contract labor or contractor usage can be an effective approach to maintaining flexibility and
agility when business conditions are changing. However, keeping contractors for extended periods
can be more costly and limit process standardization if the associated knowledge, IP and processes
are not well documented and captured within the enterprise.

Figure 8. Distribution of IT Service Desk FTE: Insourced Versus Contractor, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Page 18 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Annual Contacts per IT Service Desk FTE
Annual Contacts per IT service desk FTE (Figure 9) provides a look at dedicated FTE productivity
levels. This metric will vary depending on call handle time and complexity of the call.

Understanding the productivity level of your IT staff in terms of units supported can be very helpful
in establishing efficient and effective workflow as well as in terms of ensuring your support staff is
the “right size.” If the level of support staff is supporting more than the middle 50 percent of the
published sample, is this level of productivity sustainable? How will you adapt to required future
growth or complexity? How are a majority of the contacts generated (voice, email, Web, chat, paper
or fax, self service, IVR, automated password resets)? How does this compare to the service levels,
the cost structure, the skill level of the support staff or the level of environment complexity? It is
important to consider this metric alongside the degree the environment may be outsourced.

Figure 9. Annual Contacts per IT Service Desk FTE, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

First Contact Resolution Rate

First contact resolution rate (Figure 10) measures incidents where an end-user receives resolution
during the first contact with the IT service desk.

First contact resolution rate is defined as:

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 19 of 28

 ■ The actual percentage of voice/chat contacts resolved upon the initial contact. First-contact
completion applies when the first person the customer reaches fulfills the request, provides the
information or resolves the incident. Warm transfers, service dispatch and callbacks should be
considered second or greater contact.

Service level metrics such as the first contact resolution rate, abandonment rate and speed to
answer should not only be viewed in terms of targeted objectives versus actual, but should also be
viewed in relation to the associated cost as well as with respect to the quality of service delivered
and business requirements.

Figure 10. First Contact Resolution Rate, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Abandonment Rate
Abandonment rate (Figure 11) measures the number of calls coming to the IT service desk that hang
up before answered.

Page 20 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 Figure 11. Abandonment Rate, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Speed to Answer
The average number of seconds to answer, speed to answer (Figure 12), measures the time a
customer waits between connecting to the IT service desk and having the call answered by a live
agent.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 21 of 28

 Figure 12. Speed to Answer, 2013-2017

Source: Gartner IT Key Metrics Data (December 2017)

Conclusions
The metrics and benchmarks we have identified here provide a high-level view of current trends in
technology cost efficiency and staff productivity levels. These can be used to assist in planning
exercises with IT management as well as in setting targets in key technology areas. They provide
generic context as well as an industry standard framework to monitor and evaluate cost structure
and sourcing strategy.

It is important to understand that the published averages are not targets, and decisions of "good" or
"bad" performance should not be based on these metrics. They are indicative reference points from
which to view current performance and cost levels to help identify differences that could merit
further analysis. By understanding the complexity and demand factors driving your environments
cost structure; you will be more able to articulate why your organization is higher or lower than these
metrics in terms of service quality, workload quantity and the associated cost to meet business
requirements.

IT Key Metrics Data is a Gartner Benchmark Analytics solution that delivers indicative IT metrics in a
published format as directional insight for IT organizations. This solution represents a subset of the

Page 22 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 metrics and prescriptive benchmark analysis capability that is available through Gartner Benchmark
Analytics. For ongoing and or more targeted analyses, Gartner Benchmark Analytics provide clients
with in-depth, personalized benchmarking and customized analysis to help identify technology
performance strengths and prioritize areas and opportunities for optimization.

Appendix 1: Total IT Spending Definition

For the purpose of this research, Gartner has defined "total IT spending" as the following:

"The best estimate of total spending at the end of the 12-month budget period for IT to support
the enterprise. IT spending/budget can come from anywhere in the enterprise that incurs IT
costs, and it is not limited to the IT organization. It includes estimates by enterprises on
decentralized IT spending and or "shadow IT." It is calculated on an annualized 'cash flow view'
basis, and, therefore, contains capital spending and operational expenses, but not depreciation
or amortization."

What the IT Spending/Budget Includes, From a Resource or Cost Perspective

■ Hardware, software, personnel (including contractors, travel, benefits and training), outsourcing
(external IT services like consulting, system integration, data and voice transmission, software
as a service, infrastructure as a service), disaster recovery and occupancy costs associated
with supporting IT within the enterprise. Costs also include all taxes (except value-added tax
where it is recovered or refunded to the organization).
■ Note: Occupancy costs, include fully burdened costs for the facilities being used by the IT
staff supporting the enterprise. Some examples include office space, furniture, electricity,
maintenance, property taxes, security and office supplies. Occupancy costs for space
dedicated to IT functions, such as the data center, including power/heat management and
raised floor, are also included.

What the IT Spending/Budget Includes, From an IT Functional Area or Activity Perspective

■ The data center (for example, mainframes, servers, storage and facilities), end-user computing
devices (for example, desktops, laptops, tablets, thin clients and smartphones), voice and data
networks (including, but not limited to, voice and data transmissions, fixed and mobile
telephony, and internet access services), IT service desk, and applications (for example,
development and maintenance).
■ IT support functions, such as the office of the CIO; supervisory management; finance and
administrative costs, such as purchasing; asset management; process management; and
marketing of IT services.

What the IT Spending/Budget Includes, From a Business Perspective

■ Dedicated data processing equipment used in operations, production and engineering

environments — examples are computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 23 of 28

 CAM) and standard computing equipment used in devices for factory automation, and tablet
PCs used by healthcare professionals.
■ Business functionality software that runs on standard IT equipment.
■ The IT assets used to create commercial software and/or digital products. While internal and
outsourced personnel costs for commercial software development are specifically excluded
(see below), the tools used by the software developers to perform their jobs are still included in
scope. Commercial software developers are considered to be users/employees and not IT FTE.
■ The IT based delivery mechanisms for commercial software are also included in scope. This
may include servers hosting software to be downloaded or infrastructure that runs SAAS
applications, and websites.
■ Applications developed (web/mobile/other) for customer use where the primary benefit is
something other than data manipulation, or digital content delivery. For example, the
development of an insurance mobile application to submit claims or check rates would be
included. An application delivering streamed music would not be included.

The guidance related to commercial software applies across all industry sectors and not just to
organizations that consider themselves part of the software publishing and internet services sector.

What the IT Spending/Budget Does Not Include

■ Costs for technology or services that are resold. Examples include salaries for developers
involved in building commercially packaged software, or IT-skilled employees who provide
services for the organizations' external clients.
■ Operational technology that is:
■ Equipment-built or purchased for non-data-processing purposes, but which has
computerized components. Examples include robotic manufacturing machines, automated
teller machines, specialized point-of-sale devices, scanners, blood pressure monitors and
sensors on a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system.
■ Appliance-like or proprietary data processing equipment that has a single (typically industry
vertical) purpose and cannot be used for other general purposes. A typical example is a
computer that can only control the flow of electricity through the power grid. Since it cannot
be repurposed, it is not included in our model. Note that other systems that gather data
from this type of computer and can be used for other purposes would not be considered
operational technology and, therefore, would be in scope of our model.
■ Depreciation or amortization expenses, which could lead to double counting from an
accounting perspective.
■ Internal "cross charges" and corporate allocations related to large, significant and/or unusual
one-time expenses, such as reductions in workforce, redundancy, relocations, retirement,
human resources and chairperson's salary.

Page 24 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 ■ Business data subscriptions and services (such as Bloomberg), even if they are managed by the
IT organization.
■ Business process outsourcing services (BPO) where organizations outsource entire business
functions such as payroll or benefits management. This includes cases where the BPO vendor
provides access to software, and also guarantees that the outcomes of their services will meet
business requirements, such as tax and withholding regulations. Note: where a vendor provides
Software as a Service and only guarantees that the software will perform as specified, then this
is in scope of the IT spending/budget. Traditional outsourcing of IT functions, for example
servers and email, are also still within scope.
■ Personnel performing business analytics. However the hardware, analytics software,
development of the tools, and staff that support these are included.

Appendix 2: Exploring Gartner's Prescriptive Benchmark Analytics Capabilities

The world’s leading organizations use Gartner Benchmark Analytics to support the execution of
Missions-Critical Priorities. Gartner's consulting-based benchmark analytics capabilities deliver
unbiased comparisons of IT performance relative to unique client-specific peer organizations and
those considered best in class. Benchmarks can help you assess your IT organization's
performance to ensure delivery of cost-effective and efficient IT services, identify opportunities for
improving performance and effectively communicate value to the business.

Gartner Consulting led benchmarks are individually configured, project-specific benchmarks that
help support such IT challenges as growth planning, charging for IT services, budget validation,
mergers and acquisitions, end-user satisfaction, application rationalization, or the support of
outsourced service contract evaluation. Benchmarking offers a stake in the ground, to determine
where an enterprise is today, and a future roadmap, which shows where opportunities lie.

Gartner Benchmarking can help you:

■ Plan your IT budget with relevant facts and metrics to justify your IT spending and staffing
costs.
■ Identify opportunities for cost optimization and investment prioritization.
■ Use data to improve dialogue and align with business units and the board.
■ Select the right mix of insourcing and outsourcing at fair-market prices and service levels
available today.

Learn more at "Gartner Consulting Benchmark Analytics", by contacting your account executive, or
by emailing [email protected].

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 25 of 28

 Gartner Benchmark Analytics and Case Studies

Infrastructure and Operations Benchmarks

Infrastructure and operations benchmarks create a starting point in the process of helping IT
organizations identify and assess all IT performance levels. For case studies and to learn more see,
"For Your IT Challenges — Infrastructure and Operations."

CIO and IT Executive Benchmarks

CIO and IT executive benchmarks evaluate performance from two perspectives: a cost and maturity
assessment of critical IT competencies and IT business value. For case studies and to learn more
see, "For Your IT Challenges — CIO & IT Executives."

Applications Benchmarks

Applications benchmarks are the starting point in the process to help IT organizations identify and
assess application development and support performance levels. For case studies and to learn
more see, "For Your IT Challenges — Applications."

Sourcing and Vendor Relationship Benchmarks

Sourcing and vendor relationship benchmarks provide an accurate answer to the question, "Is this a
good market price for the services being provided?" For case studies and to learn more see, "For
Your IT Challenges — Sourcing and Vendor Relationships."

End-User Satisfaction Benchmarks

IT customer satisfaction benchmarks establish a baseline for customer satisfaction and create a
roadmap that helps prioritize efforts to increase these levels. For case studies and to learn more
see, "For Your IT Challenges — IT Customer Satisfaction."

IT Business Effectiveness Benchmarks

IT business effectiveness benchmarks establish a baseline for IT's effectiveness in meeting

business needs and identify opportunities to better align the IT organization with the enterprise for
maximum results. For case studies and to learn more see, "For Your IT Challenges — IT Business
Effectiveness."

Gartner Recommended Reading

Some documents may not be available as part of your current Gartner subscription.

"ITScore for Infrastructure and Operations"

"Use Benchmarking to Identify IT Cost Optimization Opportunities"

Page 26 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784

 "Redesign IT Service Desk Incident Prioritization to Meet Business Expectations"

"Critical Capabilities for IT Service Management Tools"

"IT Service Support Management Tool Acquisitions Must Be Based on I&O Maturity"

"Use Lean to Optimize Your Understaffed IT Service Desk"

Evidence
■ This research contains relevant database averages and ranges from a subset of metrics and
prescriptive engagements available through Gartner Benchmark Analytics consulting-based
capabilities.
■ Employee, income and revenue data is based on the most recently completed fiscal year.
■ Calculations were made using worldwide observations.

Gartner, Inc. | G00341784 Page 27 of 28

 GARTNER HEADQUARTERS

Corporate Headquarters
56 Top Gallant Road
Stamford, CT 06902-7700
USA
+1 203 964 0096

Regional Headquarters
AUSTRALIA
BRAZIL
JAPAN
UNITED KINGDOM

For a complete list of worldwide locations,

visit http://www.gartner.com/technology/about.jsp

© 2017 Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. Gartner is a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. or its affiliates. This
publication may not be reproduced or distributed in any form without Gartner’s prior written permission. If you are authorized to access
this publication, your use of it is subject to the Gartner Usage Policy posted on gartner.com. The information contained in this publication
has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. Gartner disclaims all warranties as to the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of
such information and shall have no liability for errors, omissions or inadequacies in such information. This publication consists of the
opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. The opinions expressed herein are subject
to change without notice. Although Gartner research may include a discussion of related legal issues, Gartner does not provide legal
advice or services and its research should not be construed or used as such. Gartner is a public company, and its shareholders may
include firms and funds that have financial interests in entities covered in Gartner research. Gartner’s Board of Directors may include
senior managers of these firms or funds. Gartner research is produced independently by its research organization without input or
influence from these firms, funds or their managers. For further information on the independence and integrity of Gartner research, see
“Guiding Principles on Independence and Objectivity.”

Page 28 of 28 Gartner, Inc. | G00341784