The Many Meanings of “Asset” in Technology Costing
When teams come together to build a technology cost story, familiar words can take on very different meanings. The term “asset” is one of the most common sources of cross‑functional confusion, especially when Finance, ITAM, and ServiceNow each bring their own definition into the conversation.
Start With Structure, Not Software
Before software can help, structure must exist. Cost pools are the first layer of any cost model, turning abstract accounting data into categories people can understand. They are a first step in creating the consistency that allows a model to scale into more advanced capabilities later on.
A Practitioner’s Introduction to Activity‑Based Costing (ABC)
Activity Based Costing is not a new method to learn. It is the mechanism behind the frameworks we already use. When we understand how resources flow into activities and how those activities support services, the logic behind ITFM, TBM, and FinOps becomes much clearer.
Technology Cost Management Isn’t New
Technology cost management isn’t a new discipline. it’s the long‑standing practice of unit costing, allocation, and cost to value modeling applied to a new domain. Retail, manufacturing, logistics, and utilities have used these methods for decades. The difference now is that technology has become complex enough to need the same accuracy and precision.