Power Play: IBM Acquires Apptio, Redefining the Hybrid Cloud and AI Landscape

IBM’s dedication to expansion and innovation is demonstrated by its deal to acquire Apptio, the company’s seventh acquisition this year. The closing of the $4.6 billion deal is anticipated for the second half of 2023 and will be funded by IBM’s existing cash reserves. The private equity firm Vista Equity Partners paid $1.9 billion to acquire Apptio in 2019. This is a tremendous valuation growth over the course of just a few years.

Apptio is an industry leader in FinOps software, which is used to manage and optimize IT finances and operations. Its products allow users to see how much they are spending on infrastructure, software, and human resources in a variety of settings, including hybrid and multi-cloud deployments. Apptio is widely recognized as the industry standard, having won the business of more than 1,500 satisfied customers and 50 percent or more of the Fortune 100. Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Oracle, and SAP are just a few of the companies with which the company has formed partnerships and integrations.

Success and expansion in today’s competitive corporate environment are largely attributable to technological advancements. IT infrastructures are becoming more complicated as businesses rely more and more on cloud-based solutions from a variety of service providers. Enterprise leaders rely on Apptio’s products to efficiently manage this complexity and make the most of their technological investments.

ApptioOne is a robust platform for measuring, optimizing, and planning hybrid cloud IT costs and returns. It sets up reliable methods of financial planning and administration that yield useful information about usage and expenditures. The ability to compare performance to that of similar organizations facilitates ongoing efforts toward optimal performance.

Apptio Cloudability is geared toward controlling and improving the cost of using the public cloud. Aligning with best practices in cloud financial management, it enables insight and optimization across multi-cloud and SaaS infrastructure. Apptio Cloudability is a service that increases the ROI of cloud computing for businesses by optimizing their cloud initiatives.

The agile investment planning features of Apptio Targetprocess guarantee that development resources are properly matched to desired business results. In addition to promoting a culture of creativity and boosting productivity, this technology helps businesses keep tabs on the value their initiatives and products are bringing to the table.

The merger of IBM and Apptio will create a formidable force in the industry because to their combined knowledge, technology, and international presence. IBM’s watsonx AI platform and Apptio’s services provide customers with the most comprehensive means of optimizing and managing their IT spending. A “virtual command center” for optimizing and managing expenditures across the whole IT environment will be made possible by the merger.

Apptio also provides IBM with access to $450 billion in aggregated, anonymized IT expenditure data. Customers and business partners can use these information to make better decisions and generate more revenue.

IBM’s strategic emphasis on hybrid cloud and AI led to the company’s decision to acquire Apptio. Significant synergies in the company’s most important growth areas are anticipated as a result. Automation, open-source solutions supplier Red Hat, IBM’s broader AI portfolio, and IBM Consulting are all examples of such fields. Clients will also benefit from IBM’s collaborations with prominent systems integrators such as Accenture, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY.

With IBM’s resources behind it, Apptio will keep to serving customers and partners in over 175 territories. Apptio’s global reach and knowledge of the FinOps sector will allow the company to continue to develop and innovate.

First reported on CNBC

Originally published on ReadWrite.