The TBM Framework

The Technology Business Management (TBM) Framework is the essential structure for aligning technology investments and operations with measurable business outcomes. As the second version of the Framework since its introduction in Technology Business Management: The Four Value Conversations CIOs Must Have With Their Businesses, this updated model reflects a decade of community learning and the evolving needs of organizations navigating increasingly complex technology landscapes.

The TBM Framework connects the core elements that leaders need to adopt, operate, and mature TBM practices—creating an actionable system for technology value management. More than a taxonomy or a set of best practices, the TBM Framework is a vertically organized, semi-integrated structure that unites all foundational elements, models, and outcomes required to deliver and sustain business value through TBM.

The Structure of the TBM Framework

Foundations: The Essential Building Blocks for TBM

At the base of the Framework, Foundations define the core components required to establish and sustain a TBM practice. These five areas ensure that organizations are equipped with the right resources and capabilities to build, operate, and mature their TBM models:

• Data: The financial, operational, and contextual data needed to construct meaningful TBM models.
• Tools: Platforms and solutions that enable data gathering, analysis, modeling, and reporting.
• Methods: Standard processes and methodologies for applying TBM to real-world technology and business challenges.
• Roles: The people and teams responsible for TBM execution, including governance roles such as the TBM Office.
• Change: The organizational change management required to embed TBM into decision-making processes and culture.

The TBM Model: Connecting Data to Actionable Insights

The TBM Model is the central mechanism for turning raw data into actionable insights that inform technology, finance, and business decisions. A TBM model structures and allocates cost, consumption, and performance data to reflect how technology resources are consumed and how they deliver value to the organization. This modeling enables organizations to understand and manage their technology investments—whether for on-premises infrastructure, cloud services, software, labor, or external providers. By applying the TBM Model, organizations can analyze the total cost and value of technology, assess trade-offs, and optimize spending to align with business goals.

The TBM Model includes three key elements that support its structure and extend its reach:

• TBM Taxonomy 5.0: The global standard for classifying and organizing technology, finance, and business elements. The Taxonomy underpins TBM models by enabling consistent cost modeling, consumption tracking, and alignment to business outcomes.

• TBM Taxonomy Extensions: Industry-specific adaptations of the Taxonomy to support specialized needs, such as in Banking, Manufacturing, or Public Sector.
• Connected Standards: Integrations with adjacent and complementary frameworks—such as FinOps, NIST, ITFM, Agile, and Sustainability Standards—to link TBM insights with broader enterprise initiatives like cloud optimization, cybersecurity, and ESG reporting.

TBM Outcomes: The Value Delivered Through TBM

The TBM Outcomes layer defines what organizations achieve through effective TBM practices. These outcomes reflect how TBM translates technology management into measurable business results:

• Transparency: Clear visibility into costs, consumption, and performance to support informed decision-making.
• Insights: Analytical understanding of how technology investments drive business value.
• Benchmarking: Comparisons of cost, performance, and investment levels against industry peers and best practices.
• Strategy: Alignment of technology spending and initiatives to business strategies and goals.
• Alignment: Coordination of IT, finance, and business leaders around shared priorities and trade-offs.
• Optimization: Ongoing improvement of technology investments and operations to maximize efficiency and value.

Organizational Value Drivers: Linking TBM to Business Priorities

At the top of the Framework are Organizational Value Drivers, which define the business outcomes that TBM helps influence. These drivers ensure that TBM is not just a financial or IT management tool, but a strategic enabler of enterprise value:

• Financial Performance: Managing technology investments to improve profitability and business results.
• Operational Efficiency: Ensuring resources are deployed effectively to streamline operations and reduce waste.
• Innovation: Supporting investments in new capabilities that drive competitive advantage and market differentiation.
• Risk & Compliance: Managing technology risks and aligning with security, regulatory, and governance requirements.
• Experience: Improving experiences for customers, employees, and partners through better technology service delivery.
• Sustainability: Advancing environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives, including carbon footprint and ethical technology use.

Evolving from the Original TBM Framework

When first introduced in Technology Business Management: The Four Value Conversations, the TBM Framework provided foundational guidance for aligning IT and business through structured conversations. It focused on disciplines and organizational changes to drive TBM adoption.

As TBM practices and standards have evolved—and as technology investments now span cloud, AI, security, and sustainability—the need for a more integrated and actionable structure has emerged.

The current TBM Framework builds on these original concepts, organizing TBM’s foundational elements, models, and outcomes into a comprehensive system that connects technology to business value. It is designed to meet the needs of organizations at every stage of TBM adoption and maturity.

To learn more about the original TBM Framework and the Four Value Conversations, visit our TBM Framework v1 page.