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.Chapters00:00 Introduction to FinOps and SaaS Challenges01:51 Building a Software Management Program at MGM05:46 Tactics, Data, and Prioritization09:00 Implementing a New Software Intake Processes11:48 Standardizing Data with FinOps FOCUS14:39 Understanding the Differences Between Cloud and SaaS17:54 Evolving FinOps Practices for SaaS19:10 Making the Most of the FinOps Community21:09 Closing Thoughts