Run, Grow, Transform
What is Run, Grow, Transform?
Run, Grow, Transform is a model that classifies technology spending by purpose: running, growing or transforming the business. It shows how much of a budget maintains versus changes the business.
Updated November 2026 · 5 min read
Run, Grow, Transform is a widely used model for classifying technology spending by its purpose. It divides spending into three categories: running the business, which keeps existing operations working; growing the business, which expands or improves existing capabilities; and transforming the business, which creates new capabilities or business models. The model was popularized by Gartner and is used by CIOs, CFOs and boards to understand how technology money is being used.
The model is valuable because it shifts attention from how much is spent to what the spending is for. Two organizations with identical IT budgets may be in very different positions if one spends most of its budget on keeping legacy systems running and the other invests heavily in new capabilities. Run, Grow, Transform makes that difference visible and gives leaders a simple way to set targets for change.
Definition of Run, Grow, Transform
Run, Grow, Transform is a classification scheme that assigns each technology cost or investment to one of three purposes. The categories are defined by what the spending achieves for the business rather than by what it buys, so the same type of cost, such as cloud infrastructure or developer time, could fall into any of the three depending on its use.
The model is closely related to the distinction between run the business and change the business spending, sometimes abbreviated RTB and CTB. In that simpler model, grow and transform are combined into a single change category. Both versions aim to show the balance between maintaining what exists and investing in what comes next.
Run the Business
Run spending covers the costs of keeping current operations working. It includes infrastructure, application maintenance, support, licenses for existing systems, security operations and the staff who run them. These costs are necessary, but they do not add new capabilities. Much of run spending sits in the IT budget as recurring operating cost.
In most organizations, run spending is the largest category, often accounting for well over half of technology budgets. Because run costs tend to grow over time as systems age and accumulate, keeping them under control is essential for freeing money to invest in growth and transformation.
Grow and Transform the Business
Grow spending improves or expands what the business already does. Examples include adding features to a customer platform, extending a system to new regions or increasing capacity to support more customers. These investments build on existing capabilities.
Transform spending creates something new, such as entering a new market, launching a new digital business model or replacing core processes with a fundamentally different approach. Transform investments carry more risk and uncertainty but offer the greatest potential for strategic change.
Importance of Run, Grow, Transform in IT Financial Management
The model gives leaders a simple, strategic view of technology spending that a list of budget lines cannot provide. It answers a question boards and executives frequently ask: how much of our technology investment is moving the business forward?
It also creates a shared language between technology and business leaders. Categorizing spending by purpose makes it easier to discuss priorities and trade-offs without getting lost in technical detail.
Balancing the Portfolio
Most organizations want to reduce the share of spending on run and increase the share on grow and transform. Tracking the split over time shows whether that is actually happening, or whether run costs are quietly crowding out new investment.
Leaders often set targets, such as moving from a 70 percent run share to 60 percent over three years, and report progress alongside other IT financial management (ITFM) measures. Achieving this usually requires reducing run costs through rationalization, automation and better vendor terms, then redirecting the savings to change initiatives.
Linking Spending to Strategy
Run, Grow, Transform helps connect technology budgets to business strategy. A company pursuing aggressive growth should see more spending in grow and transform, while a company focused on efficiency may accept a higher run share in exchange for lower total costs.
When the split does not match the strategy, the model highlights the gap. This gives CIOs a basis for proposing changes to the budget and helps business leaders understand why certain investments are needed.
How to Implement Run, Grow, Transform
Implementing the model requires clear definitions and consistent classification. Without agreed rules, different teams will categorize similar spending in different ways, and the resulting numbers will not be trusted.
The work is usually led by IT finance or a TBM office, with input from portfolio management and business leaders who sponsor major initiatives.
Defining and Classifying Spending
The first step is writing definitions for each category with examples relevant to the organization. Edge cases need explicit rules, such as whether a mandatory upgrade counts as run or grow, or how to treat a project that both replaces an old system and adds major new capabilities.
Operating costs are then classified, typically by mapping cost centers, services and applications to categories. Project spending is classified at approval, often as part of the business case. Many organizations use their TBM Taxonomy model and project portfolio data together to produce the split.
Reporting and Acting on Results
The results are reported regularly, often quarterly, as part of IT financial reporting and portfolio reviews. Showing the trend over several periods is more useful than a single snapshot, because the goal is usually to change the balance over time.
To shift the balance, organizations look for ways to reduce run costs, such as retiring redundant applications, consolidating infrastructure or improving IT cost optimization practices. The savings are then directed to grow and transform initiatives through the planning and budgeting process.
Examples of Run, Grow, Transform in IT Financial Management
The examples below show how organizations use the model to understand and change their spending.
Both use illustrative figures but reflect common patterns.
The first shows the model used to change the overall balance of a budget, and the second shows how a single program moves between categories over its life.
Rebalancing an IT Budget
A regional bank classifies its $200 million technology budget and finds that 78 percent goes to run, 16 percent to grow and only 6 percent to transform. Its board, which wants the bank to compete with digital challengers, asks for more investment in new capabilities.
Over three years, the bank retires dozens of legacy applications, moves workloads to more efficient platforms and renegotiates major contracts. Run spending falls to 64 percent of a similar total budget, freeing about $28 million a year for digital initiatives.
Evaluating a Major Program
A manufacturer launches a program to connect its factories with real-time data. The program's business case classifies 60 percent of spending as transform, because it enables new services for customers, and 40 percent as grow, because it improves existing operations.
Once the system goes live, its ongoing support and infrastructure costs move into the run category. The manufacturer plans for this in its budget, so the new run costs do not unexpectedly reduce funding for future change.
Conclusion
Run, Grow, Transform classifies technology spending by its purpose: running the business, growing it or transforming it. It gives leaders a clear view of how much of their investment maintains existing operations and how much drives change.
Used consistently, the model supports better portfolio balance, stronger links between technology spending and strategy and more productive conversations between technology and business leaders. Organizations that track it over time can see whether their efforts to control run costs are actually freeing money for the future.
Related terms
IT Budget
An IT budget is an organization's plan for technology spending over a period, usually a fiscal year. It covers operating and capital costs for infrastructure, applications, staff, services and projects.
IT Financial Management (ITFM)
IT Financial Management (ITFM) is the discipline of planning, tracking and managing technology spending. It covers budgeting, forecasting, accounting, cost allocation and reporting for IT.
TBM Taxonomy
The TBM Taxonomy is the TBM Council's standard model for classifying technology costs. It organizes spending into cost pools, resource towers, solutions and consumers so costs can be compared and traced.
IT Cost Optimization
IT cost optimization is the continuous practice of aligning technology spending with business value, reducing waste and inefficiency while protecting or increasing investment in the capabilities that matter most.