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TPM-Taxonomy

Technology Business Management (TBM) Taxonomy for modeling technology cost, consumption, and value.

The TBM Taxonomy is the global standard for classifying technology costs, resources, and services in a way that enables consistent, business-aligned decision-making.

The taxonomy is built on four interconnected layers, each representing a different lens on technology spend and value. Together, they allow organizations to trace every dollar of technology investment from its origin in financial records to its ultimate business impact.

TBM-Taxonomy-Layers

Bildquelle Source = https://www.tbmcouncil.org/

Technology Consumer Layer - Service Stakeholders​

The Technology Consumer Layer identifies who uses technology solutions, linking delivered services to the stakeholders that determine their business value. At the top of the taxonomy is the Business Layer, which defines the consumers of IT services. These may include internal business units, external customers, joint ventures, or products and programs. The Business Layer exists to make IT spend visible to the people and functions that fund it. This enables consumption-based accountability, value realization, and alignment with business strategies.

TBM-Technology-Consumer-Layer

Bildquelle Source = https://www.tbmcouncil.org/taxonomy/

This layer is essential for linking IT investments to Organizational Value Drivers and supporting outcomes-based funding models.

  • Formal organizational units / functions responsible for running the enterprise, such as Finance, HR, Marketing, Sales, Customer Service, or Lines of Business. These often align to departments or cost centers and provide a stable view of organizational accountability.
  • Business Value Streams are cross-functional flows of work that deliver value to customers or internal stakeholders—such as “Customer Onboarding,” “Claims Processing,” or “Product Fulfillment.” Value streams typically span multiple functions and align with product or process-based delivery models.
  • Internal users or partner entities that consume technology services or digital products directly. Includes shared services recipients, federated business teams, and internal customers. Useful for consumption modeling, chargeback, and optimization.
  • Individuals or organizations outside the enterprise who consume technology-enabled products or services. May include end customers, clients, or public sector constituents. Modeling external consumers supports analysis of digital value, experience, and business impact.

Technology Solutions Layer​

The Solutions Layer represents the services, platforms, and capabilities IT delivers to the business. Solutions represent the technology services and products delivered to stakeholders, linking resource costs to business outcomes and enabling transparency, planning, and performance analysis. These are the business-facing outputs of IT.

TBM-Technology-Solutions-Layer

Bildquelle Source = https://www.tbmcouncil.org/taxonomy/

Business IT-Service Domain

  • Digital Business Workspace Services (DWS) are user-facing solutions that deliver access, communication, and productivity tools (e.g. client devices, software, and connectivity) to support day-to-day workforce operations.
  • Digital Business Enabling Services (DES) are user-facing solutions that deliver access, communication, and productivity tools (e.g. of the shelf software, and communication, coordination and collaboration solutions) to support day-to-day workforce operations.
    • AI-Solutions enabling scalable, adaptive capabilities that enhance productivity, decision-making, and experience. Through technologies such as generative models, agent-based automation, and predictive intelligence, these solutions reduce manual effort, surface actionable insights, and optimize business and operational performance.
  • Digital Business Core Solutions (DCS) are solutions enabled by the technology organization to support internal business functions, business processes and enterprise operations. These solutions typically automate or enhance shared service functions such as Finance, Human Resources, Legal, and other administrative domains that sustain the organization’s core operating model.
  • Digital Business Individual Solutions (DBS) are special solutions enabled by the technology organization to support internal business functions, business processes and enterprise operations. These individal solutions automate or enhance shared specific business processes.

IT-Technology IT-Service Domain

  • IT Delivery solution supporting the innovation, development, deployment, operation, and sustainment of Workplace, Business, and Shared & Corporate solutions. This includes development services that create or modify business-facing capabilities and support operations that assist users and ensure solution availability and performance.
  • IT-Technical solutions are foundational datacenter facilities (DCaaS), network solutions (NWaaS), compute (PaaS), storage (STaaS), integration (MWaaS) and IT-security solutions (SECaaS) delivered by the technology organization and directly consumed.

Technology Resource Towers Layer​

The Technology Resource Layer classifies how technology fucntions consume resources. linking cost sources to delivered solutions.

TBM-Technology-Resource-Towers-Layer

Bildquelle Source = https://www.tbmcouncil.org/taxonomy/

  1. IT-Infrastructure encompasses core computing, storage, network, hosting, and platform-enablement functions. Technology Resource Domains are high-level categories used only for organizing related Towers.
  2. OT-Infrastructure / Field and IoT are resources supporting operational technology through sensor-based input, localized processing, and device-to-device or device-to-cloud communication across industrial, commercial, and workplace settings. Includes embedded, IoT-enabled, and edge-connected devices that monitor, automate, or interact with the physical environment.
  3. Application / Software encompasses the full lifecycle and operational support of software applications and the platforms that enable their execution, integration, and interoperability. Includes planning, development, licensing, and sustainment of business and technical applications, as well as internally built and externally acquired software, middleware, orchestration tools, and runtime environments that support scalable and connected software delivery.
  4. Operations / IT-Processes captures cross-functional support areas such as technology management, governance, and continuity services. (Technology Resource Domains are high-level categories used only for organizing related Towers.)

Technology Cost Pool Layer​

The Cost Pool Layer classifies expenses based on what was purchased - labor, software, cloud services, facilities - not where or how it’s used. This foundational layer is often aligned directly to general ledger accounts and reflects the nature of cost.

TBM-Taxonomy-Cost-Layers

Bildquelle Source = https://www.tbmcouncil.org/taxonomy/

  • Staffing. Includes salaries, benefits, and other costs associated with internal personnel (e.g. employee, temporary employee, intern), Time & Material contractor, and staff augmentation resources delivering or supporting technology services. Staff augmentation is an outsourcing strategy where a company hires external professionals—often on a contract or temporary basis—to supplement their existing in-house team. Excludes consultant and managed service resources.Labor is featured prominently as both a spend-based and headcount-based cost pool. This allows organizations to track workforce costs with greater precision and understand their impact across delivery models. For example, Labor costs map into multiple Technology Resource Towers, since people support every function—from compute to security to platform services. Labor expenses can be split across towers based on time tracking, usage models, or proportional allocation strategies.
  • Outside Services are expenses for external personnel providing technology services that do not contribute to organizational headcount. Includes consulting and managed services engaged for specific projects, operations, or support functions, excluding staff augmentation and Time & Material contractors.
  • Cloud Services i a category for all public, private, and hybrid cloud services, including IaaS and PaaS, supporting enterprise technology infrastructure and applications. Excludes SaaS, which is categorized in the “Software & SaaS” Cost Pool.
  • Software and SaaS includes the licensing, maintenance, support, and SaaS costs for all software, including operating systems, middleware, databases, and business applications.
  • Hardwre costs incurred from other internal groups (eg HR, finance, facilities, and other Technology groups).
  • DataCenter and Facilities includes the floor space, power, cooling, and other utilities costs, environmental controls (e.g., fire suppression), power distribution, and other related costs for managing data center facilities. Excludes personnel and hardware components like servers and storage.
  • Telecom includes all telecommunications charges, such as leased lines, domestic and international voice (including mobile), MPLS, ISP, and other network connectivity charges. Excludes mobile devices, IP phones, and related hardware expenses supported via the Hardware pool.
  • Miscellaneous or non-standard expenses that do not fit within other defined cost pools, covering irregular or undefined expenditures.
  • Cross charges are costs incurred from other internal groups (eg HR, finance, facilities, and other Technology groups).

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Abbildung IT-Serviceportfolio / Poster