Third Time’s the Charm: How MGM Finally Cracked SaaS with FinOps

After several attempts to launch a successful SaaS Management program, TJ Johnson recognized that the FinOps approach needed to shift. As Lead Architect for Platform Economics at MGM Resorts International, he shares how starting with visibility—before diving into optimization—helped his team finally gain traction. In this episode, you’ll learn the mindset change that made the difference, how to pick the right starting point, and what it really takes to make FinOps work for SaaS.

Chapters:

• 00:00 Introduction to FinOps and SaaS Challenges
• 01:51 Building a Software Management Program at MGM
• 05:46 Tactics, Data, and Prioritization
• 09:00 Implementing a New Software Intake Process
• 11:48 Standardizing Data with FinOps FOCUS
• 14:39 Understanding the Differences Between Cloud and SaaS
• 17:54 Evolving FinOps Practices for SaaS
• 19:10 Making the Most of the FinOps Community
• 21:09 Closing Thoughts

Episode Summary

For many FinOps leaders, SaaS is the frontier that tests their discipline. Cloud may have a playbook, but SaaS continues to sprawl—across teams, budgets, and shadow purchases. Few know that better than TJ Johnson, Lead Architect for Platform Economics at MGM Resorts International.

When MGM first attempted SaaS Management, it failed—three times. Programs lost steam, ownership shifted, and efforts collapsed under their own weight. What finally worked was a radical mindset shift: stop chasing optimization, and start by knowing what you have.

As TJ put it, “It doesn’t have to be optimization day one, it’s really knowing what you have day one that sets that tone forward.”

That reset allowed MGM to build a foundation of SaaS visibility, establishing a single source of truth across scattered systems, rationalizing redundant apps, and designing a new software intake process that balanced enablement with governance.

The harder part came after the process was designed. Employees were hesitant when faced with a slower, more deliberate workflow. To keep the effort alive, TJ’s team leaned on change management: education sessions, transparency around goals, and even company-wide town halls to explain the why. Over time, adoption grew—and so did results.

The key, TJ emphasized, is remembering that SaaS Management should align spend with value: “You’re paying for the value that the application brings, not only just the users that use the application.”

By reframing FinOps practices for SaaS, MGM is now moving toward a larger vision: tech optimization. That means delivering cost accountability at the VP level across all technologies, SaaS included.

For FinOps professionals looking to bring SaaS under control, this episode offers both realism and inspiration. The first step isn’t slashing costs. The real starting point is building the visibility and governance to make smarter decisions tomorrow.

Guest Spotlight

• Name: Anthony “TJ” Johnson
• What he does: Lead Architect for Platform Economics at MGM Resorts international
• Connect with TJ: LinkedIn

Episode Highlights

1. Why SaaS Management Failed Three Times at MGM

Before MGM found success, it had already attempted SaaS Management three times. Each time the program fizzled, people came and went, ownership was unclear, and no single source of truth existed. What finally changed was starting smaller, with a tighter focus and a realistic scope.

“We’ve actually attempted to do this in the past…three or four times. Unfortunately we were not very successful with it. We just had people coming in and out, and it wasn’t the consistency that we needed. The other side of that is we realized…we don’t even have the people that can do the practice internally. So we said, let’s finally do this. Let’s do it at this pace, let’s do it at this size, and let’s grow the practice.”

2. SaaS Visibility Before Optimization

Johnson emphasizes that SaaS Management begins with visibility, not optimization. MGM first needed to answer basic questions: what software they had, who was using it, and what contracts said. Only then could they build toward rationalization and cost savings.

“We think there’s waste somewhere in there. We’re not identifying it because we don’t even know what we have. So the first thing we want to do is, what do we have? Let’s figure that out first. Let’s figure out the users, let’s figure out what the contracts say, let’s figure out all that stuff, but let’s start here. You know, it doesn’t have to be optimization day one, it’s really knowing what you have day one that really sets that tone forward.”

3. Tackling Redundancy with a New Intake Process

During the discovery phase, MGM uncovered extreme redundancy, like having 42 project management tools in circulation. This realization led to a new software intake process designed to prevent duplicates and ensure that new requests aligned with existing solutions.

“When we go through the process, you start to recognize how many redundant things we have. We actually implemented a new software intake process that allowed us to double check if we don’t already have a solution in place. If you already have a solution, then you have to see if you can conform to that before moving forward.”

4. Change Management and Buy-In

Rolling out the intake process created friction. Employees didn’t love a slower, more deliberate approach. To overcome this, Johnson leaned heavily on communication and transparency. Town halls and pre-rollout education sessions helped employees understand the “why” and buy in.

“We actually had an announcement at one of our town halls and we talked about the new process. We walked everybody through it. Explaining why we were doing it and the value we’d get as an organization switched things for them. I think they understand now—better security, easier provisioning, everything set up correctly.”

5. Extending FinOps to SaaS and Beyond

For Johnson, SaaS isn’t a separate challenge—it’s the next logical scope for FinOps. By reframing practices like workload optimization into license optimization, the same principles apply. Ultimately, his goal is technology optimization: creating accountability for spend across all technologies, not just SaaS or cloud.

“We are looking at technology optimization across all technologies. We want to get to where we have technology costs at the VP level. So we can say, here is your spend. Is this your budget? Should you be looking at it this way? There’s accountability that comes into play, but it gives us better information to manage all of our technology.”

Top Quotes

• (06:47) “It doesn’t have to be optimization day one.”
• (07:25) “We don’t know what we don’t know.”
• (14:20) “Explaining why we were doing it switched things for them.”
• (23:22) “We are looking at technology optimization across all technologies.”
• (25:23) “Don’t think that you have to do this all alone.”

If you’re a FinOps leader grappling with SaaS for the first time, TJ’s journey is a roadmap for turning false starts into lasting progress and building a foundation that leads to true tech optimization.

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