Measure return on a network investment: net benefit, ROI percentage, payback period and annualised return.
Avoided downtime is counted as a benefit alongside direct savings, because for network projects it is often the larger of the two. Subtracting the new running cost first keeps the payback figure honest — an investment that adds support contracts and licences has a longer payback than the headline savings suggest. Network upgrades compete for capital against revenue projects, and payback in years is the comparison a finance committee will actually make.
Network ROI
ROI = (total benefit − investment) ÷ investment × 100; payback = investment ÷ net annual benefit.
ROI = (total benefit − investment) ÷ investment × 100; payback = investment ÷ net annual benefit. Avoided downtime is counted as a benefit alongside direct savings, because for network projects it is often the larger of the two. Subtracting the new running cost first keeps the payback figure honest — an investment that adds support contracts and licences has a longer payback than the headline savings suggest.
Network upgrades compete for capital against revenue projects, and payback in years is the comparison a finance committee will actually make.
This calculator takes 5 inputs: Upfront investment, Annual operational savings, Annual downtime cost avoided, Additional annual running cost, Evaluation period. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.