Total Economic Impact
Cost Savings And Business Benefits Enabled By GitHub Enterprise Cloud
A Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study Commissioned By GitHub, July 2025
Total Economic Impact
A Forrester Total Economic Impact™ Study Commissioned By GitHub, July 2025
The software development landscape is rapidly evolving — shaped by enduring priorities like efficiency, collaboration, and security — and now amplified by the growing integration of AI into DevOps workflows to drive productivity and innovation. Organizations require scalable, integrated solutions that enhance developer experience and provide data-driven insights to optimize workflows. It’s essential for organizations to use a significant amount of automation to support developers, DevOps, and development, security, and operations (DevSecOps) professionals to enable faster delivery times, help maintain competitiveness, and ensure high-quality and secure software delivery.
GitHub Enterprise Cloud is an end-to-end DevSecOps platform that brings together development, collaboration, security, and governance. It’s enhanced by GitHub Copilot, which provides AI-powered code assistance and agentic workflows to autonomously test, iterate, and improve code, and this can help teams move faster while maintaining enterprise standards. Using the unified platform can help organizations maintain competitiveness and implementing high-quality, secure software delivery processes.
GitHub commissioned Forrester Consulting to conduct a Total Economic Impact™ (TEI) study and examine the potential return on investment (ROI) enterprises may realize by deploying GitHub Enterprise Cloud.1 The purpose of this study is to provide readers with a framework to evaluate the potential financial impact of GitHub Enterprise Cloud on their organizations.
To better understand the benefits, costs, and risks associated with this investment, Forrester interviewed five decision-makers at four organizations with experience using GitHub Enterprise Cloud. For the purposes of this study, Forrester aggregated the interviewees’ experiences and combined the results into a single composite organization that is a global organization with 5,000 software developers and revenue of $24 billion per year.
Before implementing GitHub, the interviewees’ organizations faced challenges related to fragmented development environments, inconsistent security practices, and limited collaboration. One organization struggled with complexity and inefficiencies due to using multiple platforms, while another needed better governance and standardization across teams. A third organization encountered difficulties in cross-regional collaboration and code sharing, while a fourth faced delays in development cycles and challenges in working with external partners. These issues often led to slower delivery times, increased security risks, and high infrastructure costs.
After adopting GitHub Enterprise Cloud, these organizations realized measurable benefits. GitHub Actions streamlined automation and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) workflows, while GitHub Advanced Security enhanced code security and vulnerability management across entire application portfolios. GitHub Copilot boosted developer productivity by assisting with code generation and reducing manual effort. The unified platform enabled better integration with existing tools, improved collaboration across teams and regions, and eliminated the need for on-premises infrastructure, which improved code quality, cost savings, and time to market. Together, these GitHub solutions transformed the software development practices at the interviewees’ organizations into more agile, secure, and efficient operations.
Quantified benefits. Three-year, risk-adjusted present value (PV) quantified benefits for the composite organization include:
Software developer efficiency and productivity gains. Improved tools and automation lead to measurable time savings and increased productivity for the composite’s developers. Enhanced security features and user interfaces streamline development processes, resulting in higher output and efficiency. Over three years, the shorter development cycle is worth more than $48.3 million to the composite organization.
Efficiency related to security and compliance. Features like code scanning, secret scanning, and embedded security tools streamline the composite’s processes, reduces its vulnerabilities, and enhances its overall security posture. These tools make it easier for the organization’s engineers to manage and fix vulnerabilities, ensuring more secure deployments. Over three years, efficiencies related to security and compliance add up to $9.3 million to the composite organization.
Savings from time to productivity for new developers. GitHub Copilot helps new developers at the composite understand code and improve documentation more quickly, which reduces the learning curve and accelerates onboarding. Comprehensive design summaries further enhance the learning process, leading to faster productivity. Over three years, the impact of shorter time to productivity for new hires is worth $1.7 million to the composite organization.
Cost and time savings from retiring the legacy tech stack. By consolidating systems and moving to a SaaS model, the composite reduces complexity and resource requirements, lowering both human and operational costs. Enhanced security coverage and future-proofing for development processes further contribute to these savings. Over three years, the cost and time savings from retiring the legacy technology stack adds up to $8.2 million for the composite organization.
Revenue impact of accelerated time to market. By consolidating systems and standardizing development processes, the composite reduces complexity and improves efficiency, leading to faster product delivery. Enhanced collaboration and automation further streamline development cycles, contributing to quicker market readiness. Over three years, revenue impact of accelerated time to market is valued at $18.4 million for the composite organization.
Unquantified benefits. Benefits that provide value for the composite organization but are not quantified for this study include:
Improved code quality. Because GitHub enforces code reviews and conducts early checks, it helps the composite reduce defects and minimize the need for rework during QA testing cycles. This systematic approach to code quality ensures that developers at the composite organization can identify and resolve issues early, leading to more reliable and maintainable software and increased confidence in code quality.
Enhanced risk reduction. Because GitHub Advanced Security empowers a security-first approach to software development, the integration continuously scans the composite’s code for secrets, vulnerabilities, and code dependencies. This enhances the organization’s overall security practices. By embedding security checks directly into the development workflow, the composite can address potential issues in real time, reducing the risk of security breaches and ensuring a more secure codebase.
Unified standardization. With GitHub, the composite organization standardizes development tools and workflows across teams, which may drive consistency, reduce risk, and simplify governance. By consolidating legacy systems into a single platform, the organization eliminates tool sprawl, while built-in governance features automate compliance and promote best practices. Centralization also enhances collaboration and transparency across the composite’s development organization.
Accelerated innovation. GitHub accelerates the composite’s innovation by combining AI capabilities with a modern development platform. Supported by tools that reduce barriers and promote agility, teams at the organization are more willing to experiment and iterate quickly, enabling the composite to lead in a fast-changing market.
Increased collaboration. By allowing engineers from different parts of the composite to work together on projects, GitHub enables cross-departmental collaboration. This capability helps the organization break down previous silos and foster a more integrated and cooperative work environment, which enhances overall productivity and innovation.
Improved developer satisfaction and reduced churn. The platform’s tools streamline routine processes at the composite organization and reduce administrative burden on developers, leading to greater satisfaction and better overall performance. This positive impact on developer morale translates into higher-quality work and a more dynamic development environment at the organization. Interviewees said the platform’s tools are user-friendly and that collaborative features create an environment in which developers enjoy their work, leading to higher job satisfaction and retention.
Costs. Three-year, risk-adjusted PV costs for the composite organization include:
GitHub license fees. The composite organization pays for GitHub through a modular, usage-based model, with separate charges for Enterprise Cloud, Advanced Security, and Copilot based on user count. GitHub charges the composite for Codespaces and GitHub Actions based on actual usage (e.g., compute time, storage). This flexible approach lets the organization scale its investment and adopt advanced features as needed. The composite’s license costs are $6.8 million over three years.
Platform setup, migration, and user training. The composite organization incurs various costs during its GitHub migration, setup, and training. These include expenses for consolidating version control and CI/CD systems, configuring tools like GitHub Actions, Advanced Security, and Copilot, and piloting new features. Additional costs stem from building internal portals and providing training materials and support during onboarding. The composite’s ongoing change management, especially around security and compliance, also requires continuous cross-functional coordination. These costs add up to $8.3 million over three years for the composite organization.
Ongoing platform management. The composite’s ongoing GitHub management involves investments in governance, internal tooling, automation, and integrations, like custom portals and tagging systems. Dedicated teams of seven to 12 full-time equivalents (FTES) support platform operations, user enablement, and training while continuous onboarding, structured Copilot support, and collaboration with security teams ensure effective use and compliance. In total, these activities cost the composite $2.9 million over three years.
The representative interviews and financial analysis found that a composite organization experiences benefits of $85.9 million over three years versus costs of $18.1 million, adding up to a net present value (NPV) of $67.9 million and an ROI of 376%.
Return on investment (ROI)
Benefits PV
Net present value (NPV)
Payback
For more information on GitHub Enterprise Cloud, see the Infographic and the TEI Spotlight titled Accelerate Secure Software Delivery With GitHub Advanced Security And Copilot
| Role | Industry | Annual Revenue | GitHub Users |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director of software engineering | Food and beverage | $10B | 200 |
| VP of engineering | Financial services | $28B | 17,000 |
| Technology director | Retail | $95B | 2,800 |
| DevSecOps engineer | Retail | $95B | 2,800 |
| Senior IT director | Manufacturing | $36B | 3,800 |
Interviewees said before implementing GitHub, their organizations faced a range of challenges stemming from fragmented development environments, inconsistent tooling, and limited collaboration. The interviewees noted how their organizations struggled with common challenges, including:
Tool fragmentation. Many teams operated across multiple platforms, leading to tool sprawl, integration issues, and inefficiencies in development workflows. Collaboration across teams and regions was difficult, with some developers resorting to sharing code via email due to incompatible systems.
Operational inefficiencies. Different platforms served various purposes, and some were duplicative. This redundancy led to operational inefficiencies and increased costs because maintaining multiple systems required more resources and effort. Additionally, using disparate systems created security risks while hindering standardization and governance.
Security challenges. Security practices were inconsistent, and visibility and coverage were limited because the decentralized environments made it harder to enforce consistent security practices and provide the necessary evidence for compliance.
Manual and time-consuming coding tasks. Developers wasted time on repetitive and algorithmic coding tasks that could be automated. This slowed down development processes and reduced the time available for more innovative and complex problem-solving tasks.
Slow onboarding of new developers. Onboarding new developers was often slow due to steep learning curves, lack of collaborative practices, and legacy codebases.
Interviewees said that when evaluating GitHub Enterprise Cloud, their organizations were primarily looking to modernize and streamline their software development practices. Investment objectives centered on improving developer productivity, enhancing security, enabling better collaboration across distributed teams, and reducing the complexity and cost of maintaining fragmented toolchains. Many interviewees said their organizations were also motivated by the desire to adopt cloud-native and AI-powered development tools to support faster innovation and efficiently scale engineering capabilities.
The interviewees’ organizations searched for a solution that could:
Provide a configurable, out-of-the-box solution that minimizes the amount of customization required by the organization. This was seen as crucial to reducing the complexity and time required for deployment and maintenance.
Enable seamless collaboration across geographically dispersed teams. Interviewees said their organizations needed a platform that would facilitate easy and efficient collaboration between teams located in different regions to ensure all team members could work together without significant barriers.
Offer robust security features integrated into the development workflows. The organizations wanted a solution with advanced security measures (e.g., static code analysis, secret scanning) to ensure security was embedded into the development process and not treated as an afterthought.
Provide support for modern development practices and tools. Interviewees said their organizations required a SaaS-based platform that could integrate with contemporary development tools and practices (e.g., CI/CD pipelines) to streamline their development processes.
Provide comprehensive metrics and reporting capabilities. Interviewees explained that gaining the ability to extract detailed metrics and reports on development activities would be essential for monitoring performance, compliance, and productivity across the organization.
After request for proposal (RFP) and business case processes evaluating multiple vendors, the interviewees’ organizations chose GitHub Enterprise Cloud and began deployment in the following ways:
Phased rollouts and pilots. Several interviewees said their organizations began with pilot programs or phased rollouts and started with advanced or high-impact teams to validate the value of GitHub Enterprise Cloud before scaling across the companies.
Tool consolidation initiatives. A common first step was consolidating disparate tools into GitHub Enterprise Cloud to simplify the development environment and reduce operational overhead.
Developer-centric adoption. Several organizations prioritized developer experience by involving engineers early in the decision-making process to ensure GitHub Enterprise Cloud would meet their needs and to encourage organic adoption.
Security-first integration. The organizations adopted GitHub Advanced Security early to enforce secure coding practices and integrate security checks into developer workflows.
Centralized governance with federated execution. While platform governance was often centralized, execution was federated, which empowered local teams with autonomy while maintaining global standards.
Internal enablement and training. The organizations invested in internal enablement through training sessions, office hours, documentation, and GitHub champions to drive adoption and best practices.
Custom automation and integration. Several interviewees said their organizations built custom portals, automation scripts, and integrations to tailor GitHub Enterprise Cloud to their enterprise workflows.
Close vendor collaboration. Several companies worked closely with GitHub and Microsoft services teams and leveraged enterprise architects, roadmap insights, and best practices to guide implementation.
Based on the interviews, Forrester constructed a TEI framework, a composite company, and an ROI analysis that illustrates the areas financially affected. The composite organization is representative of the interviewees’ organizations, and it is used to present the aggregate financial analysis in the next section. The composite organization has the following characteristics:
Description of composite. The $42 billion global enterprise employs 5,000 developers, 200 DevOps employees, and 66 DevSecOps employees. It has a robust presence in the technology sector and provides comprehensive solutions across various domains. The company is known for an innovative approach and commitment to leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance operational efficiency. Prior to adopting GitHub, the organization relied on a legacy on-premises tech stack for source code management, project management, and security tools.
Deployment characteristics. Following a six-month implementation period, the composite organization begins its migration to GitHub Enterprise Cloud in Year 1. Initially, the organization retires 25% of the legacy infrastructure, impacting 45% of software developers. In Year 2, it retires 45% of the legacy infrastructure, impacting 65% of software developers. And by Year 3, it retires 65% of the legacy infrastructure, impacting 80% of software developers. The same percentages of DevOps FTEs migrate to GitHub Enterprise Cloud each year to ensure a smooth transition and integration across all geographies and channels.
$42 billion in revenue
5,000 developers
200 DevOps employees
66 DevSecOps employees
| Ref. | Benefit | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atr | Software developer efficiency and productivity gains | $6,356,880 | $18,069,480 | $36,702,720 | $61,129,080 | $48,287,733 |
| Btr | Efficiencies related to security and compliance | $2,045,267 | $3,780,649 | $5,679,071 | $11,504,987 | $9,250,607 |
| Ctr | Savings from time to productivity for new developers | $471,960 | $724,328 | $943,920 | $2,140,208 | $1,736,853 |
| Dtr | Cost and time savings from retiring legacy technology stack | $1,890,000 | $3,402,000 | $4,914,000 | $10,206,000 | $8,221,713 |
| Etr | Revenue impact of accelerated time to market | $5,355,000 | $7,735,000 | $9,520,000 | $22,610,000 | $18,413,261 |
| Total benefits (risk-adjusted) | $16,119,107 | $33,711,457 | $57,759,711 | $107,590,275 | $85,910,167 |
Evidence and data. The interviewees reported their organizations saw notable improvements in software developer efficiency and productivity after adopting GitHub Enterprise Cloud and GitHub Copilot. They said GitHub Enterprise Cloud, particularly through features like GitHub Actions and Codespaces, streamlined workflows and reduced time spent on testing, debugging (excluding security-related debugging), and miscellaneous development tasks. These tools enabled developers to stay within unified environments, automate repetitive processes, and reduce context switching — factors that previously disrupted focus and slowed progress.
Interviewees also said GitHub Copilot reduced the time developers spent writing and analyzing code. They explained that by offering intelligent code suggestions, scaffolding, and contextual assistance, Copilot accelerated coding tasks and reduced the cognitive loads associated with understanding and modifying complex codebases. While exact metrics varied, interviewees consistently emphasized that the combined effect of using these tools together often translated to time savings of 20% to 50% in specific areas of the development lifecycle. This mattered not only for faster delivery, but also for improving developer satisfaction, reducing burnout, and enabling teams to focus more on innovation and high-value work.
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company told Forrester: “GitHub Copilot often saves developers 50% of their coding time. With GitHub metrics, I see that roughly 20% of the suggestions by Copilot are accepted.”
The VP of engineering at the financial services company said: “Developers seem to think their development lives are eased with GitHub [Enterprise Cloud]. The UI and tooling are a lot better and that leads to higher productivity."
The technology director at the retail company said, “If the enablement team automates processes properly once, we can reuse them everywhere. Rather than everybody doing the same thing, we increase productivity for everyone.”
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company said: “We have an internal target to strive for at least 18% to 20% speed increase in development velocity. We are currently seeing around 10% to 15% more code being developed in new languages like C#, Java, .NET, and Python.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization has 5,000 developers.
In Year 1, 45% of software developers are impacted by the migration to and implementation of GitHub Enterprise Cloud. This percentage increases to 65% in Year 2 and to 80% in Year 3.
Developers spend 30% of their time on testing and debugging and performing miscellaneous activities.
Developer time savings from using GitHub Enterprise Cloud are 10% in Year 1, 15% in Year 2, and 20% in Year 3.
The average annual fully burdened salary for a software developer is $144,000.
Developers spend 34% of their time writing code and performing code analysis.
Additional developer time savings from using GitHub Copilot Enterprise are 10% in Year 1, 20% in Year 2, and 30% in Year 3.
The composite’s productivity recapture rate is 50% each year.
Risks. The benefit can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The number of developers who use GitHub Codespaces and GitHub Actions.
Developers’ level of trust in and proficiency with GitHub Copilot.
The degree of workflow automation and integration across the toolchain.
The organization’s ability to support a unified cloud-based development environment.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $48.3 million.
Efficiency gains with Copilot Enterprise Cloud during coding and code analysis
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | Developers | Composite | 5,000 | 5,000 | 5,000 | |
| A2 | Percentage of developers impacted by GitHub migration and implementation | Composite | 45% | 65% | 80% | |
| A3 | Percentage of time spent testing, debugging (excluding time spent debugging security issues), and on miscellaneous activities before using GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Composite | 30% | 30% | 30% | |
| A4 | Developer time savings from using GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Interviews | 10% | 15% | 20% | |
| A5 | Fully burdened annual salary for a software developer FTE | Composite | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 | |
| A6 | Subtotal: Efficiency gains from GitHub Enterprise Cloud | A1*A2*A3* A4*A5 | $9,720,000 | $21,060,000 | $34,560,000 | |
| A7 | Percentage of developers impacted by migration using GitHub Copilot Enterprise | Composite | 40% | 60% | 80% | |
| A8 | Percentage of developer time spent writing code and code analysis | Composite | 34% | 34% | 34% | |
| A9 | Additional developer time savings from GitHub Copilot Enterprise | Interviews | 10% | 20% | 30% | |
| A10 | Subtotal: Efficiency gains from GitHub Copilot Enterprise | A1*A2*A5*A7* A8*A9 | $4,406,400 | $19,094,400 | $47,001,600 | |
| A11 | Productivity recapture | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| At | Software developer efficiency and productivity gains | (A6+A10)*A11 | $7,063,200 | $20,077,200 | $40,780,800 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Atr | Software developer efficiency and productivity gains (risk-adjusted) | $6,356,880 | $18,069,480 | $36,702,720 | ||
| Three-year total: $61,129,080 | Three-year present value: $48,287,733 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees told Forrester their organizations significantly improved security and compliance efficiency with GitHub Advanced Security. They reported that features like code scanning, secret scanning, and embedded security tools streamlined their processes, reduced vulnerabilities, and enhanced their overall security postures. They also explained that these tools made it easier for engineers to manage and fix vulnerabilities, ensuring more secure deployments.
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company told Forrester: “We scan binaries for dependencies, and if there are any security vulnerabilities, we block the pull request. This ensures that every deployment is free of known vulnerabilities at the time of writing. With GitHub Advanced Security, we destroyed all our passwords in source code quite quickly.”
The VP of engineering at a financial services company explained: “GitHub secret scanning is excellent. It allows us to rid our repositories of all known secrets, preventing potential security breaches. From a security perspective, we’re going from between 10% and 20% coverage to greater than 80% coverage of our application portfolio, significantly improving our security posture.”
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company shared similar testimony: “GitHub Advanced Security helps us identify vulnerabilities in our code, and secret scanning ensures that sensitive information is not exposed.”
The technology director at the retail company noted: “By embedding security in the platform, we make it very easy for engineers to follow up on vulnerabilities and get suggestions for fixes.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization employs 66 DevSecOps engineers, and 40% use GitHub Enterprise Cloud in Year 1, 65% use it in Year 2, and 80% use it in Year 3.
Thirty percent of the DevSecOps team’s time is impacted by the adoption of GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
Seventy-five percent of the improvement in DevSecOps efficiency is attributed to GitHub Advanced Security.
The average fully burdened annual salary for a DevSecOps professional is $125,000.
The productivity recapture for DevSecOps engineers is 75% each year.
Twenty-five percent of the composite’s developers with GitHub Enterprise Cloud licenses use GitHub Advanced Security in Year 1. This number increases to 35% in Year 2 and to 45% in Year 3.
Developers spend an average of 5% of their time supporting auditing/compliance and debugging code for security issues.
Seventy-five percent of the improvement in developer efficiency is attributed to GitHub Advanced Security.
The average fully burdened annual salary for a DevSecOps professionals is $144,000.
The productivity recapture for developers is 50% each year.
Risks. The benefit can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The number of repositories that actively use GitHub Advanced Security features.
The frequency and consistency of code scanning and secret scanning across projects.
The level of developer engagement with fixing surfaced vulnerabilities.
The organization’s existing security policies and integration with DevSecOps practices.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $9.3 million.
Efficiency impact of GitHub Advanced Security on applicable DevSecOps processes
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| B1 | DevSecOps FTEs | Composite | 66 | 66 | 66 | |
| B2 | DevSecOps FTEs impacted by GitHub Enterprise Cloud migration | B1*A2 | 30 | 43 | 53 | |
| B3 | Percentage of DevSecOps time impacted by GitHub Advanced Security | Composite | 30% | 30% | 30% | |
| B4 | Percentage improvement due to GitHub Advanced Security | Interviews | 75% | 75% | 75% | |
| B5 | Fully burdened annual salary for a DevSecOps FTE | Composite | $125,000 | $125,000 | $125,000 | |
| B6 | Productivity recapture for DevSecOps FTEs | TEI methodology | 75% | 75% | 75% | |
| B7 | Subtotal: DevSecOps efficiency from GitHub Advanced Security | B2*B3*B4* B5*B6 | $632,813 | $907,031 | $1,117,969 | |
| B8 | Developers who use GitHub Advanced Security | Composite | 563 | 1,138 | 1,800 | |
| B9 | Percentage of developer time spent supporting auditing/compliance and debugging code for security issues | Composite | 5% | 5% | 5% | |
| B10 | Percentage improvement due to GitHub Advanced Security | Interviews | 75% | 75% | 75% | |
| B11 | Fully burdened annual salary for a software developer FTE | Composite | $144,000 | $144,000 | $144,000 | |
| B12 | Productivity recapture for software developer FTEs | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| B13 | Subtotal: Developer efficiency from GitHub Advanced Security | B8*B9*B10* B11*B12 | $1,520,100 | $3,072,600 | $4,860,000 | |
| Bt | Efficiencies related to security and compliance | B7+B13 | $2,152,913 | $3,979,631 | $5,977,969 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓5% | |||||
| Btr | Efficiencies related to security and compliance (risk-adjusted) | $2,045,267 | $3,780,649 | $5,679,071 | ||
| Three-year total: $11,504,987 | Three-year present value: $9,250,607 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees reported a reduction in the learning curve for new developers using GitHub Copilot. They noted that Copilot helped new developers understand code and improve documentation more quickly, which led to faster onboarding and increased productivity. Additionally, they said the solution provided comprehensive design summaries, which further accelerated the learning process for new hires.
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company said: “GitHub Copilot helps new developers understand code faster and improve documentation, reducing the learning curve. Copilot provides a safe learning environment because it prevents you from disappearing down a rabbit hole. Copilot holds your hand and pulls you in the right direction with all the knowledge and data behind it.”
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company told Forrester: “Copilot gives a summary of the whole design to the developer rather than waiting for an experienced person to have a complete knowledge session. This reduces the learning curve significantly.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization has a 10% turnover rate.
The average onboarding time prior to adopting GitHub Enterprise Cloud was 80 hours.
With GitHub Enterprise Cloud, the composite improves onboarding time by 80% in Year 1, 85% in Year 2, and 90% in Year 3.
The average fully burdened hourly salary for a software developer is $69.
The productivity recapture is 50% each year.
Risks. The benefit can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The availability of well-documented codebases and internal documentation.
The level that new hires use Copilot during onboarding.
The complexity of the codebase and system architecture.
The organization’s onboarding structure and mentorship support.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $1.7 million.
Efficiency gain in onboarding of new developers by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | New hires with GitHub licenses | A1*A2*10% | 225 | 325 | 400 | |
| C2 | Average onboarding time prior to using GitHub Enterprise Cloud (hours) | Interviews | 80 | 80 | 80 | |
| C3 | Percentage improvement in onboarding time with GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Interviews | 80% | 85% | 90% | |
| C4 | Reduced onboarding time (hours) | C1*C2*C3 | 14,400 | 22,100 | 28,800 | |
| C5 | Fully burdened hourly salary for a software developer FTE | Composite | $69 | $69 | $69 | |
| C6 | Productivity recapture | TEI methodology | 50% | 50% | 50% | |
| Ct | Savings from time to productivity for new developers | C4*C5*C6 | $496,800 | $762,450 | $993,600 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓5% | |||||
| Ctr | Savings from time to productivity for new developers (risk-adjusted) | $471,960 | $724,328 | $943,920 | ||
| Three-year total: $2,140,208 | Three-year present value: $1,736,853 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees said gradually rolling out GitHub Enterprise Cloud enabled their organizations to systematically replace fragmented and legacy tool stacks, which considerably simplified their development environments. They explained that by consolidating source code repositories, CI/CD pipelines, and security tools into GitHub Enterprise Cloud, their organizations were able to retire legacy source code management platforms and various on-premises solutions. This transition not only reduced the operational burden on DevOps teams and freed up full-time resources previously dedicated to maintaining and patching infrastructure, but it also eliminated the complexity of managing multiple poorly integrated tools.
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company told Forrester: “By consolidating on GitHub [Enterprise Cloud] as our software development platform, we got rid of nine other systems at least. This has reduced complexity, resources needed, and the cost of running other systems.”
The VP of engineering at the financial services company shared: “[With our previous security platform,] we paid for servers and people to maintain our on-premises application security platform, yet we had less than 20% of our applications covered. With GitHub Advanced Security, we now have over 80% coverage, reducing both our costs and our security risk.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization incurs an annual cost of $2.5 million for its on-premises tech stack, which includes software licenses and the cost of the on-premises infrastructure.
The composite employs 200 DevOps FTEs.
Twenty-five percent of the DevOps team is fully dedicated to maintaining and managing the legacy tech stack.
The average fully burdened annual salary for a DevOps FTE is $118,000.
The composite retires 25% of its legacy tech stack in Year 1, 45% in Year 2, and 65% in Year 3.
Risks. The benefit can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The number of legacy tools and platforms in use.
The organization’s ability to migrate CI/CD and security workflows to GitHub.
The level of internal alignment on tool standardization and deprecation.
The availability of DevOps resources to support the transition and integration.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 10%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $8.2 million.
Percentage of legacy technology stack retired by Year 3
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D1 | Cost of the on-premises tech stack (infrastructure and software) | Composite | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | $2,500,000 | |
| D2 | DevOps FTEs | Composite | 200 | 200 | 200 | |
| D3 | Percentage of DevOps FTEs fully dedicated to maintaining and managing legacy technology stack | Interviews | 25% | 25% | 25% | |
| D4 | Fully burdened annual salary for a DevOps FTE | Composite | $118,000 | $118,000 | $118,000 | |
| D5 | Percentage of legacy technology stack retired | Interviews | 25% | 45% | 65% | |
| Dt | Cost and time savings from retiring legacy technology stack | (D1+(D2*D3*D4)) *D5 | $2,100,000 | $3,780,000 | $5,460,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓10% | |||||
| Dtr | Cost and time savings from retiring legacy technology stack (risk-adjusted) | $1,890,000 | $3,402,000 | $4,914,000 | ||
| Three-year total: $10,206,000 | Three-year present value: $8,221,713 | |||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees reported that consolidating disparate systems and standardizing development processes on GitHub Enterprise Cloud significantly reduced complexity and friction, which enabled faster and more efficient software delivery. They explained that using GitHub’s integrated platform — particularly GitHub Actions for CI/CD automation and Copilot for AI-assisted coding — streamlined development workflows, minimized context switching, and accelerated onboarding. These improvements enhanced collaboration across teams and geographies, reduced rework through embedded security, and enabled quicker iteration cycles. Some interviewees reported their organization saw up to 50% time savings for coding, and they said this translated into faster time to market and greater responsiveness to business needs that ultimately improved agility, innovation, and business outcomes.
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company told Forrester: “We are delivering releases faster today than we were before. GitHub Copilot saves developers 25% to 50% of their time.”
The technology director at the retail company also tied accelerated development cycles to faster time to market: “GitHub [Enterprise Cloud] has enabled much more reuse of code and automations, which accelerates development. The collaboration between departments has improved, leading to faster development and release cycles.”
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company said: “Copilot showed us a way to help release software faster, which was a key reason for adopting GitHub [Enterprise Cloud].”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite organization’s annual revenue is $24 billion, and 10% is impacted by software development.
The composite has 5,000 developers.
The average annual revenue contribution of a developer is $480,000.
Each developer at the composite has an average of 24 software releases per year per.
The average value of a software release is $20,000.
Developers at the composite who use GitHub Enterprise Cloud produce an average of two additional software releases per year. This represents close to an 8% improvement in software release frequency.
The composite organization has an operating margin of 7%.
Risks. The benefit can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The consistency of development process standardization across teams.
The extent of GitHub Actions and Copilot integration into daily workflows.
The level of cross-team collaboration and communication infrastructure.
The organization’s ability to retire redundant systems and reduce tool sprawl.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this benefit downward by 15%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $18.4 million.
Increase in software release frequency
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| E1 | Revenue | Composite | $24,000,000,000 | $24,000,000,000 | $24,000,000,000 | |
| E2 | Percentage of revenue impacted by software development | Composite | 10% | 10% | 10% | |
| E3 | Software developers | A1 | 5000 | 5000 | 5000 | |
| E4 | Revenue contribution per software developer | E1*E2/E3 | $480,000 | $480,000 | $480,000 | |
| E5 | Software releases with business impact per developer before using GitHub Enterprise Cloud (average) | Composite | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
| E6 | Average business value of a software release per developer | E4/E5 | $20,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 | |
| E7 | Incremental software releases with business impact per developer | Composite | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| E8 | Developers impacted by GitHub Enterprise Cloud migration and implementation | A1*A2 | 2,250 | 3,250 | 4,000 | |
| E9 | Business value of incremental releases | E6*E7*E8 | $90,000,000 | $130,000,000 | $160,000,000 | |
| E10 | Operating margin | Composite | 7% | 7% | 7% | |
| Et | Revenue impact of accelerated time to market | E9*E10 | $6,300,000 | $9,100,000 | $11,200,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↓15% | |||||
| Etr | Revenue impact of accelerated time to market (risk-adjusted) | $5,355,000 | $7,735,000 | $9,520,000 | ||
| Three-year total: $22,610,000 | Three-year present value: $18,413,261 | |||||
Interviewees mentioned the following additional benefits that their organizations experienced but were not able to quantify:
Improved code quality. Interviewees told Forrester that GitHub Enterprise Cloud enforces code reviews and early checks, and they said this helps their organizations catch issues early and reduce rework, leading to more reliable software. The VP of engineering at the financial services company said: “From an organizational perspective, we are much more confident in the quality of the code. If you don’t do code reviews and check things up front, you’re going to discover more defects in your QA testing cycles. This would mean things get shipped back to developers who then have to go back and fix the bugs.”
Enhanced risk reduction. Several interviewees noted the importance of detecting vulnerabilities in real time to reduce the risk of breaches. The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company explained: “GitHub Advanced Security and GitHub Actions together provide what is called a security-first approach to how we do software development and software engineering. Whenever we are coding or checking code, we scan for secrets, vulnerabilities, and binary dependencies that we may have. We ensure developers are doing everything in the IDE (integrated development environment).”
Unified standardization. A common theme in interviews was the importance of using GitHub Enterprise Cloud as a single platform to ensure consistent development practices across teams, simplifying code management and compliance. The DevSecOps engineer at the retail company explained, “Having a single platform like GitHub allows us to enforce standardized development processes across all teams, ensuring consistency and compliance.”
Accelerated innovation. The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company said the modern tools of GitHub Enterprise Cloud encourage experimentation and faster iteration, which helps teams innovate more quickly: “GitHub [Enterprise Cloud] cultivates a much more innovative environment in which teams feel empowered to experiment and adopt new ideas. Its modern tools and integrations support rapid iteration, allowing us to innovate quickly and maintain a competitive edge.”
Increased collaboration. Interviewees also told Forrester that cross-team collaboration became easier with GitHub Enterprise Cloud because it breaks down silos and boosts productivity and innovation. The technology director at the retail company noted, “We have seen examples where engineers from different parts of the organization collaborate on projects, which was not possible before due to siloed systems.”
Improved developer satisfaction and reduced churn. Interviewees mentioned that the streamlined workflows and user-friendly tools of GitHub Enterprise Cloud enhanced developer morale, reduced churn, and improved performance. The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company told Forrester: “GitHub [Enterprise Cloud] provides far better productivity, allowing developers to spend more time on the fun stuff. This, in turn, provides satisfaction, and happy people just perform better.”
The value of flexibility is unique to each customer. There are multiple scenarios in which a customer might implement GitHub Enterprise Cloud and later realize additional uses and business opportunities, including:
Lowering barriers to collaboration with partners. The senior IT director at the manufacturing company pointed out how GitHub Enterprise Cloud provides their organization with greater flexibility in its development workflows. They said that enabling seamless collaboration with external partners without the need for complex VPN configurations reduces barriers to onboarding third-party resources. The interviewee told Forrester: “Previously, if I needed to bring in a partner for product development, I had to engage a third-party entity to provide resources and support. The process of getting them set up with IDs, VPN access, and other credentials used to take quite a bit of time. With GitHub, since credentials are already shared, partners can get up and running in just a couple of days.”
Accelerating workflows with natural language input and context awareness. The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company said developers there tested an AI-powered development environment that helps developers plan and execute entire development tasks faster by generating plans, writing code, and debugging with natural language prompts. The interviewee summarized: “Using natural language prompts to generate task plans, code, and tests will enable our developers to handle multiple aspects of a project in parallel. We expect that an AI-assisted workflow can boost our productivity by reducing setup time and minimizing context switching.”
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company said teams started testing capabilities that understand broader code context beyond just the open files, which allows them to stay entirely within the IDE without switching between tools. The interviewee explained: “Features in Copilot that are much more context-aware will be key because, as a developer, I don’t have to move around between systems and can stay within the IDE for more tasks.”
Reducing developer overhead with platform-level automation. The VP of engineering at the financial services company said GitHub’s newly released Enterprise rulesets and Enterprise custom repo properties enabled their team to automate governance at the platform level. The explained that these features allow their organization to shift compliance and standardization responsibilities away from individual development teams and instead embed policies directly into the platform: “We're actually able to add more and more automation into the platform layer. We're not relying on all our development teams to have to do this ‘extracurricular’ work, which currently still takes away time from delivering business value.”
Flexibility would also be quantified when evaluated as part of a specific project (described in more detail in Appendix A).
| Ref. | Cost | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ftr | Total licensing cost to GitHub | $0 | $1,583,618 | $2,807,053 | $4,094,521 | $8,485,193 | $6,835,806 |
| Gtr | Time for setup and user training | $2,113,829 | $3,441,407 | $2,193,156 | $1,645,245 | $9,393,636 | $8,291,002 |
| Htr | Ongoing management | $0 | $867,300 | $1,239,000 | $1,486,800 | $3,593,100 | $2,929,476 |
| Total costs (risk-adjusted) | $2,113,829 | $5,892,325 | $6,239,209 | $7,226,566 | $21,471,929 | $18,056,284 |
Evidence and data. Interviewees said their organizations leveraged GitHub’s modular and usage-based licensing structure for enterprise customers. Their organizations paid separate line items for GitHub Enterprise Cloud, GitHub Advanced Security, and GitHub Copilot, with pricing determined by the number of users. Additionally, they paid for GitHub Codespaces and Actions separately based on actual usage (e.g., compute time, storage). They said the flexible structure allowed their organizations to scale their investments according to their specific needs and user bases, while also enabling them to adopt advanced features like AI-assisted coding and integrated security scanning as needed.
Several interviewees mentioned their organizations paid more for GitHub licenses than for their previous tool stacks but that they save on hardware costs and achieved better security coverage.
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company said future-proofing the software development platform was a key investment driver: “Our legacy environment cost about a third of what we’re now spending on GitHub [Enterprise Cloud], but cost wasn’t the value driver. What matters is what GitHub offers our developers as a platform for the future.”
The director of software engineering at the food and beverage company said GitHub Enterprise Cloud replaced a costly on-premises tool stack: “We had some pretty beefy virtual machines that ran [our previous platform]. In terms of cost, we’re paying more for GitHub. But, more importantly, we now have zero people maintaining our software development platform. That’s a significant saving.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
The composite pays $21 per month for each GitHub Enterprise Cloud user.
By Year 3, 80% of the composite’s developers are licensed for GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
The composite pays $49 per month for each GitHub Advanced Security user. This cost is made up of licenses for GitHub Secret Protection ($19 per month) and GitHub Code Security ($30 per month).
By Year 3, 45% of the composite’s GitHub Enterprise Cloud users are licensed for GitHub Advanced Security.
The composite pays $39 in fees per month for each GitHub Copilot Enterprise user.
By Year 3, 80% of the composite’s GitHub Enterprise Cloud users are licensed for GitHub Copilot Enterprise.
Risks. The cost can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The size and scale of the GitHub deployment.
The types of licenses deployed.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $6.8 million.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 | Users with GitHub Enterprise Cloud licenses | Composite | 0 | 2,287 | 3,303 | 4,065 | |
| F2 | Monthly cost per user for GitHub Enterprise Cloud | GitHub | $0 | $21 | $21 | $21 | |
| F3 | Subtotal: Total cost for GitHub Enterprise | F1*F2*12 | $0 | $576,324 | $832,356 | $1,024,380 | |
| F4 | Developers and DevSecOps FTEs with GitHub Advanced Security licenses | Composite | 0 | 593 | 1,181 | 1,853 | |
| F5 | Monthly cost per user for GitHub Secret Protection | GitHub | $0 | $19 | $19 | $19 | |
| F6 | Monthly cost per user for GitHub Code Security | GitHub | $0 | $30 | $30 | $30 | |
| F7 | Subtotal: Total cost for GitHub Advanced Security | F4*(F5+F6)*12 | $0 | $348,684 | $694,428 | $1,089,564 | |
| F8 | Users with GitHub Copilot Enterprise licenses | Composite | 0 | 900 | 1,950 | 3,200 | |
| F9 | Monthly cost per user for GitHub Copilot Enterprise | GitHub | $0 | $39 | $39 | $39 | |
| F10 | Subtotal: Total cost for GitHub Copilot Enterprise | F8*F9*12 | $0 | $421,200 | $912,600 | $1,497,600 | |
| F11 | GitHub Codespaces and Actions usage fees | Composite | $0 | $162,000 | $234,000 | $288,000 | |
| Ft | Total licensing cost to GitHub | F3+F7+F10+F11 | $0 | $1,508,208 | $2,673,384 | $3,899,544 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | ||||||
| Ftr | Total licensing cost to GitHub (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $1,583,618 | $2,807,053 | $4,094,521 | ||
| Three-year total: $8,485,193 | Three-year present value: $6,835,806 | ||||||
Evidence and data. Interviewees said migrating to GitHub Enterprise Cloud and implementing its platform features, including Advanced Security and Copilot Enterprise, was a multifaceted process. Motivated by the need for standardization, improved collaboration, and reduced tool sprawl, the organizations typically began their transitions by consolidating disparate version control and CI/CD systems into GitHub Enterprise Cloud. Implementation involved setting up GitHub repositories, configuring GitHub Actions for automation, and integrating GitHub Advanced Security to enable secret scanning, dependency analysis, and code vulnerability detection. They introduced Copilot to enhance developer productivity, and some piloted it with small groups before scaling up.
The organizations viewed onboarding and training as critical components: Teams developed internal portals for repository management, ran office hours, created documentation and video tutorials, and hosted regular training sessions. Adoption was supported by federated admin groups and dedicated product owners who coordinated enablement efforts, ensured governance, and facilitated knowledge sharing across regions. Interviewees often said that while the technical setup was straightforward, change management — especially around security and compliance — required sustained effort and cross-functional collaboration.
The senior IT director at the manufacturing company said: “We spent about $700,000 to $800,000 on migration. This included around 10 people internally and a similar number of people from third-party partners. … Copilot took us five months to roll out due to legal reviews. We created champion groups [with] at least 10 to 15 champions per 1,000 users to drive adoption.”
The VP of engineering at the financial services company explained: “We spent six to nine months building a GitHub portal, integrating with our systems, and creating a migration tool for approximately 55,000 repositories. That was a big effort. We’re now down to less than 4,500 [repositories]. Some are legacy apps being retired, but it’s been a steady, month-by-month journey. … We ran weekly office hours, monthly training sessions, and recorded how-to videos. We had about 15 people involved in enablement, spending 50% of their time on GitHub.”
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Platform setup — including migrating existing pipelines — takes place over three months.
Twenty DevOps FTEs dedicate 50% of their time to implementing the platform.
The fully burdened annual salary for a DevOps FTE is $118,000.
Over three years, 4,000 developers receive training on the GitHub platform and spend an average of 30 hours in formal training sessions.
Over three years, 53 DevSecOps engineers receive training on the platform and spend an average of 24 hours in formal training sessions.
Risks. The cost can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The number and diversity of legacy systems replaced or integrated.
The availability of internal expertise to manage onboarding, training, and change management.
The complexity of security and compliance requirements across business units or regions.
The scale and pace of Copilot adoption, including pilot design and rollout strategy.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $8.3 million.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G1 | Setup time (months) | Composite | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G2 | DevOps FTEs involved in setup | Composite | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| G3 | Percentage of DevOps FTE time dedicated to setup | Interviews | 50% | 0% | 0% | 0% | |
| G4 | Fully burdened annual salary for a DevOps FTE | D4 | $118,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| G5 | Subtotal: GitHub setup effort | G1/12*G2*G3*G4 | $590,000 | $0 | $0 | $0 | |
| G6 | Software developer FTEs trained on GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Composite | 675 | 1,575 | 1,000 | 750 | |
| G7 | Time a software developer FTE spends on training (hours) | Interviews | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | |
| G8 | Fully burdened hourly salary for a software developer FTE | Composite | $69 | $69 | $69 | $69 | |
| G9 | DevSecOps FTEs trained on GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Composite | 18 | 12 | 13 | 10 | |
| G10 | Time a DevSecOps FTE spends on training (hours) | Interviews | 24 | 24 | 24 | 24 | |
| G11 | Fully burdened hourly salary for a DevSecOps FTE | Composite | $60 | $60 | $60 | $60 | |
| G12 | Subtotal: New-user training | (G6*G7*G8)+(G9* G10*G11) | $1,423,170 | $3,277,530 | $2,088,720 | $1,566,900 | |
| Gt | Time for platform setup, migration, and user training | G5+G12 | $2,013,170 | $3,277,530 | $2,088,720 | $1,566,900 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | ||||||
| Gtr | Time for platform setup, migration, and user training (risk-adjusted) | $2,113,829 | $3,441,407 | $2,193,156 | $1,645,245 | ||
| Three-year total: $9,393,636 | Three-year present value: $8,291,002 | ||||||
Evidence and data. Each interviewee emphasized that consolidating multiple tools into GitHub Enterprise Cloud significantly reduced the complexity and overhead of maintaining disparate systems, which eliminated the need for multiple credentials, integrations, and maintenance routines. Similarly, they said the shift to GitHub Enterprise Cloud removed the need for maintaining on-prem infrastructure, which eliminated server maintenance, patching, and compliance tasks, which freed up internal resources. One interviewee said that with fewer people needed for platform upkeep, their organization shifted from a centralized maintenance model to a more distributed approach owned by product teams.
However, interviewees also highlighted several key themes regarding the costs of ongoing effort involved in maintaining GitHub Enterprise Cloud as they invested in governance, enablement, and support. This included ongoing investments in building internal tooling, automation, and integrations (e.g., custom portals, migration tools, tagging systems).
The organizations maintained dedicated teams with an average of seven to 12 FTEs for platform support, automation, and user enablement. Interviewees emphasized the need for continuous training, office hours, and documentation to support adoption and proper usage, and they said GitHub Copilot, in particular, requires structured onboarding and champion networks to ensure effective use. Maintaining security standards and compliance also requires continuous active oversight and collaboration with security teams.
Modeling and assumptions. Based on the interviews, Forrester assumes the following about the composite organization:
Seven DevOps FTEs are fully dedicated to managing GitHub Enterprise Cloud in Year 1.
This number increases to 10 FTEs in Year 2 and to 12 FTEs in Year 3 to accommodate the growing number of GitHub Enterprise Cloud users.
Risks. The cost can vary by organization due to the following factors:
The extent of legacy tool sprawl and complexity prior to the migration.
The maturity and availability of internal DevOps and automation capabilities.
The requirement to build and maintain custom integrations and internal tooling.
The size and distribution of the developer population that requires enablement and support.
The reliability of the organization’s network when accessing cloud solutions.
Results. To account for these risks, Forrester adjusted this cost upward by 5%, yielding a three-year, risk-adjusted total PV (discounted at 10%) of $2.9 million.
| Ref. | Metric | Source | Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | DevOps FTEs fully dedicated to managing GitHub Enterprise Cloud | Composite | 0 | 7 | 10 | 12 | |
| H2 | Fully burdened annual salary for a DevOps FTE | D4 | $0 | $118,000 | $118,000 | $118,000 | |
| Ht | Ongoing management | H1*H2 | $0 | $826,000 | $1,180,000 | $1,416,000 | |
| Risk adjustment | ↑5% | ||||||
| Htr | Ongoing management (risk-adjusted) | $0 | $867,300 | $1,239,000 | $1,486,800 | ||
| Three-year total: $3,593,100 | Three-year present value: $2,929,476 | ||||||
| Initial | Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Total | Present Value | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total costs | ($2,113,829) | ($5,892,325) | ($6,239,209) | ($7,226,566) | ($21,471,929) | ($18,056,284) |
| Total benefits | $0 | $16,119,107 | $33,711,457 | $57,759,711 | $107,590,275 | $85,910,167 |
| Net benefits | ($2,113,829) | $10,226,782 | $27,472,248 | $50,533,144 | $86,118,346 | $67,853,883 |
| ROI | 376% | |||||
| Payback | <6 months |
The financial results calculated in the Benefits and Costs sections can be used to determine the ROI, NPV, and payback period for the composite organization’s investment. Forrester assumes a yearly discount rate of 10% for this analysis.
These risk-adjusted ROI, NPV, and payback period values are determined by applying risk-adjustment factors to the unadjusted results in each Benefit and Cost section.
The initial investment column contains costs incurred at “time 0” or at the beginning of Year 1 that are not discounted. All other cash flows are discounted using the discount rate at the end of the year. PV calculations are calculated for each total cost and benefit estimate. NPV calculations in the summary tables are the sum of the initial investment and the discounted cash flows in each year. Sums and present value calculations of the Total Benefits, Total Costs, and Cash Flow tables may not exactly add up, as some rounding may occur.
From the information provided in the interviews, Forrester constructed a Total Economic Impact™ framework for those organizations considering an investment in GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
The objective of the framework is to identify the cost, benefit, flexibility, and risk factors that affect the investment decision. Forrester took a multistep approach to evaluate the impact that GitHub Enterprise Cloud can have on an organization.
Interviewed GitHub stakeholders and Forrester analysts to gather data relative to GitHub Enterprise Cloud.
Interviewed five people at four organizations using GitHub Enterprise Cloud to obtain data about costs, benefits, and risks.
Designed a composite organization based on characteristics of the interviewees’ organizations.
Constructed a financial model representative of the interviews using the TEI methodology and risk-adjusted the financial model based on issues and concerns of the interviewees.
Employed four fundamental elements of TEI in modeling the investment impact: benefits, costs, flexibility, and risks. Given the increasing sophistication of ROI analyses related to IT investments, Forrester’s TEI methodology provides a complete picture of the total economic impact of purchase decisions. Please see Appendix A for additional information on the TEI methodology.
Benefits represent the value the solution delivers to the business. The TEI methodology places equal weight on the measure of benefits and costs, allowing for a full examination of the solution’s effect on the entire organization.
Costs comprise all expenses necessary to deliver the proposed value, or benefits, of the solution. The methodology captures implementation and ongoing costs associated with the solution.
Flexibility represents the strategic value that can be obtained for some future additional investment building on top of the initial investment already made. The ability to capture that benefit has a PV that can be estimated.
Risks measure the uncertainty of benefit and cost estimates given: 1) the likelihood that estimates will meet original projections and 2) the likelihood that estimates will be tracked over time. TEI risk factors are based on “triangular distribution.”
The present or current value of (discounted) cost and benefit estimates given at an interest rate (the discount rate). The PV of costs and benefits feed into the total NPV of cash flows.
The present or current value of (discounted) future net cash flows given an interest rate (the discount rate). A positive project NPV normally indicates that the investment should be made unless other projects have higher NPVs.
A project’s expected return in percentage terms. ROI is calculated by dividing net benefits (benefits less costs) by costs.
The interest rate used in cash flow analysis to take into account the time value of money. Organizations typically use discount rates between 8% and 16%.
The breakeven point for an investment. This is the point in time at which net benefits (benefits minus costs) equal initial investment or cost.
Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
1 Total Economic Impact is a methodology developed by Forrester Research that enhances a company’s technology decision-making processes and assists solution providers in communicating their value proposition to clients. The TEI methodology helps companies demonstrate, justify, and realize the tangible value of business and technology initiatives to both senior management and other key stakeholders.
Readers should be aware of the following:
This study is commissioned by GitHub and delivered by Forrester Consulting. It is not meant to be used as a competitive analysis.
Forrester makes no assumptions as to the potential ROI that other organizations will receive. Forrester strongly advises that readers use their own estimates within the framework provided in the study to determine the appropriateness of an investment in GitHub Enterprise Cloud. For the interactive functionality using Configure Data/Custom Data, the intent is for the questions to solicit inputs specific to a prospect's business. Forrester believes that this analysis is representative of what companies may achieve with GitHub Enterprise Cloud based on the inputs provided and any assumptions made. Forrester does not endorse GitHub or its offerings. Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy and completeness of this model, GitHub and Forrester Research are unable to accept any legal responsibility for any actions taken on the basis of the information contained herein. The interactive tool is provided ‘AS IS,’ and Forrester and GitHub make no warranties of any kind.
GitHub reviewed and provided feedback to Forrester, but Forrester maintains editorial control over the study and its findings and does not accept changes to the study that contradict Forrester’s findings or obscure the meaning of the study.
GitHub provided the customer names for the interviews but did not participate in the interviews.
Anna Orban-Imreh
July 2025
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