Why Organisations Struggle to Prove Value
Across industries, organisations face the same frustration: huge cybersecurity spend with limited clarity on return. Tools are running, dashboards are full — but boards still ask the same question: “Are we actually secure?”
This disconnect exists because many programmes stop at activity, not outcomes. Controls are tracked, but impact isn’t. That’s where combining Outcome-Driven Metrics (ODMs) with Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) changes the game.
What ODMs and OKRs Actually Do
According to Gartner, ODMs quantify the real impact of strategic and technological investments. They tell you whether the work you’re doing is delivering measurable business outcomes — not just ticking boxes.
Meanwhile, OKRs align the organisation behind a small number of change-driving objectives. They create accountability and focus, ensuring everyone understands what success looks like.
When used together:
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ODMs measure the value you’re creating.
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OKRs focus your people on what needs to change to achieve it.
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Together, they close the gap between strategy and execution.
Why This Matters for Cyber Security
In cybersecurity, it’s easy to lose sight of outcomes amid tool sprawl, alerts, and compliance demands. But real assurance comes from knowing which controls are effective and how they reduce risk over time.
At Arco, we operationalise ODMs and OKRs in cyber programmes to help customers move from activity-based reporting to outcome-based assurance.
Our model connects:
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Business ODMs – measurable indicators of organisational resilience, like reduced exposure or improved mean-time-to-remediate.
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Technology ODMs – quantifiable metrics such as MFA coverage, patching velocity, or incident containment rates.
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Cyber OKRs – goal frameworks that align technical teams and leadership behind improvements that matter most to the organisation’s risk appetite.
This combination means you can not only measure progress but prove it — to regulators, auditors, and boards.
From Investment to Impact: How Arco’s Model Works
Using ODMs and OKRs together enables what Arco calls Outcome-Led Assurance — a measurable, evidence-based approach to cyber maturity.
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Baseline – We assess your current controls and maturity against key ODMs, defining your starting point and roadmap.
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Transform – We set OKRs to align teams and budgets behind the improvements that drive those ODMs forward.
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Assure – We continuously measure and report progress against live ODM dashboards, providing clear, defensible assurance at every level.
The result is simple: you stop reporting activity and start showing measurable risk reduction and resilience improvement over time.
Why You Should Talk to an Arco CISO
Most CISOs already know what needs fixing — but struggle to translate it into language the board understands.
An Arco CISO helps bridge that gap by:
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Turning complex telemetry into business-relevant ODMs and OKRs.
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Showing where investments deliver measurable outcomes — and where they don’t.
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Creating a clear, defensible link between technical metrics and board-level priorities.
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Guiding teams through the Baseline → Transform → Assure journey to establish continuous, outcome-led assurance.
Talking to an Arco CISO gives you a fast, practical path to move from “we manage tools” to “we prove protection works”.
Book a session with an Arco CISO to see how ODMs and OKRs can redefine your cyber strategy.
FAQ
What are Outcome-Driven Metrics (ODMs)?
ODMs are quantifiable measures that show whether your cyber investments are achieving their intended outcomes. For example, “90% of privileged accounts protected by MFA” or “critical vulnerabilities remediated within SLA 95% of the time”.
How do OKRs fit into cybersecurity?
OKRs align the entire organisation on the objectives that matter most — such as “Improve our ransomware resilience score by 30%” — and define the measurable key results (ODMs) that prove progress.
Why is this approach better than traditional KPIs?
KPIs measure performance; ODMs measure impact. KPIs might tell you how much you’re doing; ODMs show whether it’s working. Together with OKRs, they make cybersecurity measurable, explainable, and defensible.
What are the benefits of using ODMs and OKRs with Arco?
You get clear visibility of control performance, quantified assurance for the board, and a structured roadmap for improving resilience over time — all surfaced in the Arco platform.
When should I contact an Arco CISO?
If you’re preparing for a board presentation, struggling to justify cyber spend, or want to move from reactive compliance to continuous assurance, now is the right time.
Ready to Turn Strategy Into Measurable Outcomes?
Outcome-Driven Metrics and OKRs give you the language, structure, and evidence to prove cyber value — not just activity.
With Arco, you can measure progress, show results, and earn confidence across every layer of your organisation.
Book time with an Arco CISO today to start aligning your investments to the outcomes that matter most.
