It's about services. (Score 1)

Start by defining the services you deliver. For example, email. The exec's don't care about your internet connectivity uptime, server disk space, etc. They care about services they consume, and the availability and cost of those services.

So, think about it from the perspective of the execs going shopping to replace you. They'd go to IBM and give them a list of what they want from IBM, in language that you'd expect from a business-focused non-technical user. Now build that list in your head, and associate the underlying components with each of those services and start monitoring both the service and the components, and report back on the service availability quarterly.

Next, they'll ask you how much each of those services cost (they're always looking to cut costs, be ready and surprise them with a list, and demonstrate how you're the best choice.)