At the beginning of the exciting journey into IT Cost Management, there’s often a nagging feeling: maybe we’re paying too much for – broadly speaking – IT. Usually triggered by a bill shock, the next step often follows quickly: a task force trying to create transparency using Excel spreadsheets. And it soon becomes clear: it’s about much more than just cloud costs. A deeper dive brings up terms like ITFM or TBM.
These IT Financial Management (ITFM) or Technology Business Management (TBM) initiatives often begin with high expectations – and end in disillusionment. The quest for transparency turns into complex software projects. Tools designed for global enterprises with dedicated finance departments are dropped into mid-sized or decentralized organizations. The result: instead of clarity, new silos emerge – this time within the tool itself. And the more complex the tool, the more likely it is to suffer from performance issues. The system becomes sluggish, expensive, requires external consulting – and is rarely used internally.
Why Many ITFM/TBM Projects Miss the Mark
The problem rarely lies in the tool itself – but rather in the mismatch between the tool and the organization. When a system needs months of implementation, dedicated resources, and external consultants before it can even deliver data, it has already lost its relevance for daily operations. The most common mistake: “If we’re going to do IT cost management, let’s do it right.” But “right” doesn’t mean “big” – it means appropriate. Appropriate for your data maturity, goals, resources – and your organization’s culture.
A clear vision for cost management includes:
- A structured, reliable data foundation
- A practical cost model with transparent allocation logic
- A lean, scalable software solution that doesn’t overwhelm
A flexible, modular tool can support this process – without burdening the organization with unnecessary complexity.
When Market Leaders Become a Burden
Many companies have already taken the leap: they’ve implemented a well-known ITFM or TBM tool – often with significant investment in time, money, and internal resources. But after months of implementation, disillusionment sets in: the system is complex, hard to maintain, slow – and barely used in day-to-day business. The promised transparency becomes a permanent construction site.
This situation is not an isolated case. It highlights the core issue: a tool cannot deliver what the organization doesn’t need or cannot handle. If you find yourself in a system that generates more effort than value, don’t just optimize at the surface – ask the fundamental question: Does this tool still fit our organization?
What to Do When Your Current Software No Longer Fits
The market leader may do everything – but that’s often exactly the problem. Because something that can do everything must also cover everything, configure everything, integrate everything. That takes time, money, patience – and often creates a project that never truly ends.
A good tool…
- scales with the organization instead of overwhelming it
- is not the center of the project, but its enabler
- supports gradual adoption and can be expanded modularly
- brings data, processes, and people together – not just reports
ITFM and TBM Must Work Across the Organization
Overly complex ITFM/TBM software often leads to poor adoption outside of Controlling. For a system to be effective, it must connect with IT, business units, and executive leadership. Technically, this means providing role-based dashboards, targeted visualizations, and context-sensitive user guidance. Most importantly, it must be usable and understandable by everyone. IT Cost Management only reaches its full potential when Controlling, IT, and Business work from a shared data foundation. This requires not only technical features – like collaboration tools or comment sections – but also a clearly structured access and approval logic. That’s how ITFM/TBM becomes a management tool, not just a reporting utility.
From Cost Reporting to Strategic Steering
The goal should be more than just presenting historical costs. It’s about making IT decisions understandable, evaluating investments, and revealing efficiency opportunities. A good tool should support this perspective through:
• Display of services in a business context
• Analysis of unused or inefficient resources
• Simulation of budget allocation scenarios
Sustainability Through Usability
IT Cost Management is not a one-time project – it’s a continuous process. The software used must be usable and maintainable in the long term – not just during the initial rollout, but during ongoing operations. Systems that are intuitive and integrate into existing workflows ensure long-term relevance and user adoption.
Organizations shouldn’t be dazzled by big platform promises – especially if they’ve already experienced how difficult these platforms are to use in everyday business. A system that can only be operated by a team of experts is not a cost management tool – it’s a cost item in itself. So if you’re already using a solution that creates more effort than impact, don’t hesitate to consider a fresh start.
A lean, adaptable solution can be more affordable, more flexible – and simply more effective in the long run. A tool is not an end in itself. It should help you make decisions, manage budgets, and create transparency. If you need a platform that must be fully configured before you can even use it, you’ve likely taken a wrong turn.
