Don’t just automate, validate: How to measure and grow your return on investment

Source: Red Hat Blog

Overview

Successfully delivering automation demands technical excellence, quality code, and reliable execution. However, scaling this success requires translating those technical wins into measurable business impact that can be communicated to leadership or integrated into business strategy. Red Hat Ansible Automation Platform offers two different capabilities that help practitioners and leaders turn operational metrics into a clear, auditable business case for expansion: Automation dashboard and automation analytics.

Automation dashboard: On‑premise visibility

The automation dashboard provides a comprehensive view of automation performance, enabling you to measure and demonstrate the value of your initiatives. Through the on‑premise dashboard, you gain detailed insights into automation usage, job outcomes, and associated financial impact. Key metrics such as job success rates, time savings, and return on investment (ROI) support data‑driven decision‑making and help identify opportunities to scale automation effectively. With robust customization and reporting capabilities, you can filter, save, export, and share detailed analyses on project performance, user activity, and operational efficiency.

• Reports can be exported as PDF files for a quick snapshot of metrics such as cost and time savings, job success and failure rates, and total hours of automation.
• For deeper analysis, data can be exported as CSV files and ingested into existing business‑intelligence (BI) tools.

Because the dashboard is a self‑contained, on‑premise utility, all data remains securely within your environment. It can aggregate data from multiple Ansible Automation Platform instances and is accessible directly in the Ansible interface for system_admin and system_auditor accounts. This makes it ideal when data security is a priority and when you want local, real‑time visibility into automation performance.

Automation analytics: Cloud‑based insights and advanced reporting

Automation analytics extends visibility beyond the local environment, offering cloud‑based insights through the Red Hat Hybrid Cloud Console. By securely sending data from your Ansible instances to the cloud, analytics provides a broader, organization‑wide view of automation performance, adoption, and ROI.

Accessible through your Red Hat Customer Portal account, automation analytics offers more granular reporting than the on‑premise dashboard. Key features include:

• Savings planner – estimates potential time and cost savings.
• Detailed job and organization‑level metrics that help identify trends and measure efficiency over time.

These analytics empower teams to monitor ROI, forecast savings, and plan automation investments strategically, while making it easier to benchmark performance and share insights across the organization.

What’s next: Scaling automation across the enterprise

With measurable ROI established through the automation dashboard and automation analytics, the next step is expanding automation beyond early adopters. Scaling automation requires making it accessible and secure for collaborating peers and other teams while maintaining governance and consistency.

The self‑service automation portal enables you to extend automation across the enterprise effortlessly. By offering a simplified point‑and‑click interface, the portal allows even inexperienced users to consume pre‑approved automation safely. This approach accelerates adoption and frees experienced practitioners to focus on higher‑value innovation.

Gain data‑driven insights

• Access real‑time, actionable insights into automation performance and impact.
• Leverage these insights to guide IT operations and make evidence‑based decisions that improve efficiency and outcomes.

For a real‑world example, see how the State of Missouri scaled automation to unlock time for innovation. You can also explore guidance like 5 steps to defining your automation strategy, which outlines how to expand automation strategically while maintaining control and visibility.

Translating operational success into personal impact

For technical automation users, the value of measurement lies in connecting operational outcomes to personal contributions and strategic alignment to business objectives. With data from the automation dashboard and automation analytics, you can quantify specific time savings, efficiency improvements, and reliability gains, building a clear case for expanding your scope and adopting additional use cases.

When speaking with your manager, focus on how these results contribute to team and organizational goals. For example:

• “Our recent automation cut deployment time by 60 %, freeing me to focus on strategic projects.”
• “If we expand automation to additional workflows, we could double that impact and further reduce manual overhead.”

Framing your success in terms of measurable ROI and business alignment helps you build a strong case for expanding automation within your scope. This may involve proposing new use cases, requesting additional resources, or demonstrating readiness for greater responsibility.

Resources

• Explore how to track automation usage, measure ROI, and gain insights from your automation initiatives.
• See the dashboard and analytics tools in action.
• Practical tips for getting leadership buy‑in for automation initiatives.
• Try interactive, hands‑on exercises to explore new features and workflows.