TBM Framework & Taxonomy

Following up on the question regarding Taxonomy updates.  Todd responded in part with:  "Just want to be clear here: Ashley is asking about the TBM Taxonomy I believe, not the Apptio TBM Unified Model. "

I'm  confused about the differences between the two.  The Towers/Sub-towers do not match despite the claim of "TBM Council Endorsed" in the upper left corner of the Apptio TBM Unified Model snapshot below.

 Can you help me understand why they are different?

Hi Michael,

In a nutshell, Apptio TBM Unified Model, or ATUM, is the predecessor of the TBM Taxonomy Version 2.0. Apptio initially developed the Apptio TBM Unified Model to provide adaptable best practices for standardized modeling of IT costs and allocations. It was endorsed by the TBM Council and accepted as the industry standard until very recently.

In 2016, TBM Council formed the Board Committee on Standards. This Committee slightly revised, approved and published a newer version in October 2016. The new version is called TBM Taxonomy Version 2.0.

I hope this answers your question. Please let me know if you need further info.

Nihat Dogan

Michael / Nihat, 

In 2014, the TBM Council board reviewed, commented on and ratified the Cost Pool and IT Resource Tower standards which has been published as the TBM Taxonomy v1.   The graphic in Michael's post shows the IT Towers from v1.   

In May 2016, the board approved the formation of a Standards Committee within the TBM Council.  The Standards Committee drives, reviews member feedback, refines and endorses the TBM Taxonomy and other TBM-related standards.  After several months of deliberations that proposed the TBM Taxonomy v2 which was endorsed by the TBMC Board in October 2016.

The Apptio TBM Unified Model (ATUM) is Apptio's implemenation of the TBM Taxonomy.  ATUM is Apptio's specification that defines a comprehensive, best-practice financial model for IT. ATUM is composed of four key components of which the TBM Taxonomy is one.  Specifically, ATUM includes the following:

• TBM Taxonomy: The organization of the standard IT business model into cost pools (financial view), IT resource towers (IT view) and services (business view).
• Key Drivers and Allocations: The drivers and relationships that define the cost composition and allocation of costs within the IT business model.
• Data: The datasets and definitions required to construct the IT business model.
• Standardized TBM metrics and KPIs: The metrics to measure the performance of IT

Ed