The Technology Business Management (TBM) Practice doesn’t just manage budgets; it hunts for strategic value. While executive sponsors set the vision and Practice Leads run the operations, the TBM Analyst—sometimes titled the ITFM Analyst—is the crucial “insights hunter” responsible for finding and framing the financial opportunities that change business decisions. This office is a discrete group of individuals dedicated to optimizing IT spending and enhancing operational transparency.
Working at the nexus of technology and financial management, the TBM Analyst must possess a unique blend of business and technical acumen. This role transforms raw spending data into actionable intelligence, enabling leaders to manage the cost, quality, and value of IT services.
Here are the critical functions and best practices observed in high-performing TBM Analyst teams:
1. Driving Insight Gathering and Value Opportunities
The primary mandate of the TBM Analyst is to move beyond simple data reporting and actively uncover opportunities for efficiency and smarter investments.
- Independent Insight Hunting: In a senior capacity, the TBM Analyst conducts independent insight hunting and engages in data modeling to uncover trends and opportunities. This includes exploratory data analysis and developing reports to meet customer needs.
- Supporting Strategic Decisions: The Analyst’s work is directly tied to major organizational decisions. They provide key qualitative and quantitative technology-related considerations to c-suite executives and business leaders when making strategic investment decisions. This data supports forecasting expenses and reviewing inventory and usage data with technology service owners.
- Business Case Creation: Analysts are often involved in business case creation and scenario planning. This includes using TBM data for financial analysis, helping leaders understand costs in different regions for hiring determination or evaluating outsourcing efforts to estimate financial impact.
- Value Tracking: The Analyst tracks value realization and progress against approved use cases. Their performance metrics may include measurable goals defined around the number of insights delivered and savings identified versus achieved.
2. Tailoring Data for Actionable Consumption
A report is useless if the target audience can’t act on it. Analysts ensure that the complexity of the TBM model is translated into clear, role-based insights.
- Refining Use Cases: Analysts collaborate with requesters to identify and refine use cases, then work with the TBM Administrator to develop a technical approach for use case fulfillment. Support for the development of use cases helps realize TBM value.
- Role-Specific Reporting: The Analyst ensures reports align with the user’s objectives, from operational teams to senior executives, as reporting methods were developed for stakeholders at all levels of the organization to consume and apply. This tailored approach means that executives receive consolidated KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), while operational teams (like cost center owners and cloud engineers) receive the more detailed reports needed for day-to-day tactical decision-making.
- Supporting Operational Cadences: TBM core teams, which include analysts, provide support to the Resource Management Office for near real-time data analysis and historic insights. They manage the monthly data release and provide end-user support.
3. Collaboration, Skillset, and Career Growth
The TBM Analyst role is highly collaborative, requiring interaction across Finance, IT, and specialized TBM roles.
- Cross-Functional Team: The core TBM team relies on analysts and often includes a mixed skillset, sometimes listing Data Analysts, Cost Model Analysts, and individuals with backgrounds in CPA, Data Science, BA, and development.
- Training and Empowerment: Analysts facilitate training sessions for new users and often operate in an environment where decisions are driven by the team’s collective use of TBM data. They also maintain a close partnership with the TBM Administrator to support the fulfillment of use cases.
- Professional Development: The TBM Analyst role is a recognized path for career growth. Individuals in this discipline are encouraged to pursue TBM and FinOps certifications, which are recognized as validating the team’s dedication and content area expertise. Furthermore, the TBM team collaborates with various stakeholders from across the firm’s global offices. This collaboration supports data accuracy while enhancing team building, communication, and the firm’s ability to retain top talent.
