Key Metrics for Evaluating the Business Impact of SRE

In this series of blogs, we are highlighting the importance of discussing SRE from a business perspective, and everything you stand to gain from it. In our previous blog, we discussed the specific manners in which SRE impacts the business. This blog will focus on how we can measure this impact.

Business Objectives and KPIs

Business performance is often measured through Business Objectives and related Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). They are predetermined goals and checkpoints that guide the direction of the company.

For example, for an e-commerce website, KPIs may include:

• Number of daily visits
• Average time spent on the website
• Total revenue generated
• Conversion and retention metrics

While there are numerous ways to map KPIs to website value streams, let’s consider a simple example: a web shop must build systems for searching, ordering, and paying for products. These represent elements of the Value Stream.

Example: Product Search as a KPI Driver

It is crucial to ensure that customers find products quickly. Too many searches can cause frustration, abandonment, and loss of revenue. Therefore, a relevant KPI in this scenario could be reduction in search time.

Search Services and Value Streams

• Simple Product Search – when customers know the exact product (e.g., “pink phone case”)
• Top 10 Products in a Category – when customers know the type (e.g., “protective phone case”) but not the exact one
• Relevant Recommendations – when customers recently purchased a phone and may need related accessories

Service Level Indicators (SLIs)

What are SLIs?

Service Level Indicators (SLIs) are point-in-time measurements of a service’s technical quality. The four most common SLIs (Golden Signals) are:

• Latency: Time to service a request
• Error rate: Percentage of failed requests
• Throughput: Number of requests handled per time unit
• Saturation: Resource usage by a request

Why SLIs Matter

In our webshop example:

• Simple Product Search → latency is a critical SLI (time taken to display results)
• Recommendations Service → error rate is a critical SLI (frequency of failures or missing results)

Poor SLIs (high latency or error rate) degrade user experience and reduce KPIs like engagement, conversions, and revenue.

Service Level Objectives (SLOs)

What are SLOs?

Service Level Objectives (SLOs) define the target quality of service over time. Each SLI should have a corresponding SLO to measure whether performance meets business needs.

Examples of SLOs

• Simple Search: 98% of searches must return results within 1 second (rolling 60 min).
• Recommendations: 97 out of 100 service calls must generate results successfully.

Defining Meaningful SLIs and SLOs

Meaningful SLIs and SLOs must be:

• Relevant: Directly tied to business outcomes
• Well-defined: Easy to track, consistent, measurable
• Proactive: Early warning signals of performance issues

For example, a 1 second response time for 98% of searches is a reasonable expectation. Tracking this over a rolling 60-minute window reveals trends in reliability and user experience.

Aligning Business and IT Performance

Traditionally, alignment was done using non-functional requirements (NFRs). But NFRs often led to over-engineered systems or systems meeting technical specs without delivering real customer value.

By defining SLIs and SLOs aligned to business objectives, companies can:

• Connect IT performance directly to business outcomes
• Identify reliability risks before they impact revenue
• Bridge the gap between business leaders and engineering teams

Conclusion: Why SRE Matters for Business Leaders

When business leaders understand SRE, IT and business objectives align seamlessly. This alignment improves system reliability, customer satisfaction, and revenue outcomes.

Next step: Interested in learning more about site reliability engineering? Explore our Site Reliability Engineering consulting services and SRE training programs.