Define the IF4IT suggested Technology Categorization Taxonomy — and understand how to adapt it

Overview

The IF4IT Technology Categorization Taxonomy is presented as a suggested starting point that organizations may adopt as defined, adapt to their specific context, or replace entirely with a taxonomy better suited to their organizational structure, industry, and governance priorities. The critical requirement is not adherence to any specific taxonomy but the consistent application of whatever taxonomy the organization adopts — applied to every technology record across all inventory types, maintained on a defined cadence, and used as the organizing structure for standards, assessments, and reporting.

Best Practice

The IF4IT suggested taxonomy organizes technology assets into six primary categories, each corresponding to one of the six Technologies Inventory types described in the following subsection. Within each primary category, sub-categories reflect meaningfully distinct governance contexts.

Software Technologies encompasses all software-based technology assets the organization uses, develops on, or deploys. Sub-categories include: Development Languages and Runtimes; Development Frameworks and Libraries; Development Tooling; Middleware and Integration Platforms; Database and Data Management Platforms; Server and Infrastructure Software; Security Software; Productivity and Collaboration Software; Desktop and End User Software; SaaS Platforms; AI and Machine Learning Platforms; and Analytics and Business Intelligence Platforms.

Hardware Technologies encompasses all physical technology assets the organization owns, leases, or manages. Sub-categories include: Computing Devices; Networking Infrastructure; Telecommunications Infrastructure; Storage Infrastructure; Data Center Infrastructure; IoT and Edge Devices; and End User Peripherals.

Cloud and Infrastructure Services encompasses technology services consumed from cloud providers. Sub-categories include: Infrastructure-as-a-Service; Platform-as-a-Service; and Managed Services.

Intellectual Property and Standards Technologies encompasses proprietary and licensed intellectual property assets and the industry standards the organization has adopted as technology foundations. Sub-categories include: Proprietary Algorithms and Methods; Licensed Intellectual Property; and Industry Standards and Protocols.

Open Source Components is a cross-cutting inventory type that captures open source software components used across all other technology categories. It is governed separately because the governance obligations of open source components — license compliance, SBOM maintenance, vulnerability tracking, supply chain risk — require specialized governance disciplines not shared by all software technologies.

Emerging and Experimental Technologies is a time-bounded holding category for technology assets under active evaluation that have not yet been formally classified into a permanent inventory position. Technologies in this category are governed under provisional evaluation status and must transition to a permanent category or be rejected within a defined evaluation period.

Benefit(s)

The IF4IT suggested taxonomy provides a governance-oriented classification structure that reflects the distinct governance obligations of each technology category rather than imposing a financial or procurement classification schema on a governance problem. Organizations that adopt or adapt it gain a classification structure that is immediately usable for governance purposes — setting standards by category, assigning assessment criteria by category, defining lifecycle governance by category, and organizing the Technologies Inventory family around categories that reflect meaningful governance distinctions.