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IBM to Acquire Apptio Inc., Enhancing Financial and Operational Insights in Enterprise IT

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IBM has announced its definitive agreement to acquire Apptio Inc., a prominent provider of financial and operational IT management and optimization (FinOps) software, from Vista Equity Partners for a total of $4.6 billion. This strategic acquisition represents a significant step forward for IBM’s IT automation capabilities and will empower enterprise leaders to deliver heightened business value through their technology investments.

With digital transformations occurring at an unprecedented pace, businesses are witnessing the expansion of IT environments across public and private clouds, often involving multiple service providers. To navigate this complex landscape, organizations have increasingly turned to Apptio’s solutions, which offer integrated and simplified visibility into technology spending across hybrid and multi-cloud environments, as well as labor and associated resources. By combining Apptio’s expertise with IBM’s IT automation software and watsonx AI platform, companies worldwide will gain the ability to effectively manage and optimize their enterprise IT spend, driving tangible financial value and operational improvement.

Apptio has established itself as a profitable leader in technology business management and FinOps, boasting over 1,500 clients, including more than half of the Fortune 100. The company has built strong partnerships and integrations with industry giants such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Oracle, and SAP, aligning with IBM’s commitment to an open partner ecosystem.

Apptio equips enterprise leaders with the tools to manage technology spend and direct investments toward high-value cloud innovation and digital transformation. The company’s core offerings, delivered as software as a service (SaaS), include ApptioOne, Apptio Cloudability, and Apptio Targetprocess:

ApptioOne: Offers hybrid cloud spend management and optimization capabilities for analyzing, optimizing, and planning IT spend and value. ApptioOne enables repeatable and accurate planning and financial management processes, delivering actionable insights regarding cost and utilization, while facilitating continuous optimization through benchmarking against industry peers.

Apptio Cloudability: Provides visibility and optimization capabilities for managing public cloud spend, connecting multi-cloud and SaaS infrastructure with cloud financial management best practices to maximize clients’ cloud strategy.

Apptio Targetprocess: Delivers agile investment planning capabilities to align development resources with business outcomes, enabling effective planning and tracking of value delivery for projects or products.

Arvind Krishna, CEO and Chairman of IBM, emphasized the need to optimize investments to derive better business value in the rapidly evolving technological landscape. He stated, “Apptio’s offerings combined with IBM’s IT automation software and watsonx AI platform give clients the most comprehensive approach to optimize and manage all of their technology investments.”

The acquisition of Apptio aligns with IBM’s strong focus on hybrid cloud and AI, and is expected to generate significant synergies across various key growth areas, including automation, Red Hat, IBM’s broader AI portfolio, and IBM Consulting. Moreover, it will strengthen IBM’s collaboration with leading systems integrators such as Accenture, KPMG, Deloitte, and EY. By integrating Apptio’s anonymized FinOps data, IBM will augment watsonx with new insights, further driving innovation.
Sunny Gupta, Co-founder and CEO of Apptio, expressed excitement about joining IBM, stating, “We are so excited to be joining IBM and combining our industry-leading offerings with IBM’s global presence and strong portfolio across AIOps, automation, and hybrid cloud offerings.” The acquisition will enable Apptio to leverage IBM’s extensive scale and reach, collaborating with clients and partners across over 175 countries.

Robert F. Smith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, emphasized the success of Apptio’s transformation in optimizing IT spend and performance for leading organizations. He expressed pride in the shared accomplishments and the potential for further evolution of Apptio under IBM’s ownership.

The acquisition of Apptio will be funded using IBM’s available cash reserves. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, with completion expected in the latter half of 2023.

Increase in Chance of Vendor Acquisition:
IBM’s acquisition of Apptio Inc. and its leadership in ITAM and FinOps may lead to increased speculation about the acquisition of other vendors with FinOps and ITAM expertise, such as Flexera. The market recognizes the value and importance of these companies in providing actionable financial and operational insights across enterprise IT, and industry players may seek to acquire such vendors to strengthen their capabilities in this space.

Faros AI Lands $20 Million Series A

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Faros AI, an AI-native engineering intelligence platform for the complete software development lifecycle, announced that Lobby Capital has led its $20 million Series A funding round, with participation from other existing investors including SignalFire, Operator Collective, and Salesforce Ventures.

Airbiquity Joins AWS Partner Network

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Today, Airbiquity, the connected vehicle services provider, announced it has joined the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Partner Network (APN) to make Airbiquity’s OTAmatic® software available to AWS customers. The initiative expands the availability of Airbiquity’s Over-the-Air (OTA) software to additional connected device segments such as 2-wheeler motorcycles and scooters, industrial robots, medical equipment, and other high-value products. As an APN member, Airbiquity joins a global community of AWS Partners.

Airbiquity OTAmatic leverages the power of AWS to deliver globally secure OTA software updates with enhanced service availability and scalability. Airbiquity uses a multi-tenant cloud operating model to scale service delivery to millions of devices globally while managing the complexity of single and multi-target software updates. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) worldwide can benefit from this approach by mitigating recall expense, increasing cybersecurity response, and delivering post-sale product performance and feature enhancements. With over 25 years of innovating, integrating, deploying, and globally operating distributed product frameworks, this initiative creates an attractive opportunity for the growing and evolving mobility industry. 

“Airbiquity knows how to develop and deploy OTAmatic on AWS having done so for ourselves and our customers,” said David Jumpa, Airbiquity’s Chief Revenue Officer. “We look forward to working with AWS to reach an even broader set of OEM customers who want to implement an efficient, reliable, and secure solution for keeping their products current with the latest software versions.”

OTAmatic specifically leverages Elastic Load Balancing (ELB), Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), Amazon Managed Streaming for Apache Kafka (Amazon MSK), Amazon Relational Database Service (Amazon RDS), and Amazon CloudFront.

Gartner Finds 62% of CFOs Looking to Cut Admin Budgets

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According to a new study from Gartner which surveyed 317 CFOs and finance leaders, nearly two-thirds are planning at reductions in selling, general, and administrative budgets this year.

The survey also found that 18% are looking to cut budgets across all departments, with the biggest anticipated cuts in marketing, with 31% of respondents expecting a budget cut of more than 10%.

To adjust to this new normal, Gartner recommends the following four cost management tactics:

  • Think big: Consolidate products and services into fewer lines of business, building on a foundation of a narrower industry footprint.
  • Involve the business: Include other decision-makers to explore identify best cost-saving opportunities.
  • Establish new leading indicators: Gartner analyst Dennis Gannon, Advisory VP for the Gartner Finance Practice says, “The organizations that will come out of this crisis in leadership positions are those that quickly move resources to emerging areas of opportunity while competitors are ducking for cover.”
  • Create a recurring headwind and tailwind cost report: Identify and quantify uncertainties in the external environment in an effort to gain full transparency into the factors that might affect business performance.

For more information, you can find the Gartner announcement here.

Cybersecurity startup MixMode lands $4M in Funding

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Santa Barbara-based MixMode, which provides an AI-based security platform for enterprises announced it had closed its Series A with $4M, led by Entrada Ventures. Keshif Ventures and Blu Venture Investors also participated.

MixMode’s software employs AI to detect behavioral anomalies on the network, eliminating the need for operators to train algorithms. Continuously updated, the software also adapts to changes in user behavior, leading to more accurate and efficient results.

The company will use the funding to expand its platform and to increase global sales and partnerships.

LifeLink Chatbots to Provide COVID-19 Screening and Testing for Jefferson Health

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To respond to the Coronavirus crisis, Jefferson Health will be using LifeLink chatbots to automate clinical screening and testing.

The initiative is a three-pronged approach to automation, according to the announcement Jefferson Health made today. The new conversational chatbots can:

  • Conduct a risk assessment based on patient symptoms and exposure profile
  • Connect screened patients with recommended care pathways and action steps
  • Automate the clinical intake process for patients who need to schedule appointments

The bot is currently live on the Jefferson Health appointments website, and the company recommends patients use the chatbot before calling or visiting one of its facilities.

LifeLink also provides a smart conversation platform for Banner Health.

Video SaaS Company Looks to Lighten Teachers’ Load with Offer of Free Video Messaging Software

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Colorado Springs-based video software firm BombBomb is aiming to help educators by offering their software to teachers for free during the COVID-19 crisis.

As teachers around the country (and world) shift lessons to virtual formats, many are learning about tools beyond the now-ubiquitous Zoom that can be useful in distance learning.

The company allows users to add a video component to emails through a pretty straight-forward interface. It’s a simple and clever way for teachers to personalize assignments and lessons, and provides a familiar face – literally – during a time when folks are disconnected by design.

You can find out more at www.bombbomb.com/eduction.

Automation Opportunity: EMA Finds Only 1/3 of Management Tasks and Processes Automated in the Enterprise

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A new report from Enterprise Management Associates and sponsored by Itential, “Network Automation for 2020 & Beyond” explores the state of network automation. The research highlights what continues to be an issue with those looking at digital transformation – that people are a key factor, and that smart enterprises will work to get IT buy-in and commit to investing in skills training as technology evolves.

Key barriers to network automation, according to the report, include:

  • Security Risk and Budget
  • Culture
  • Skills Gap
  • Fear of redundancy
  • No coherent strategy

Javelin Finds Financial Institutions Not Ready for Modern, Global Threats

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In new research sponsored by Booz Allen Hamilton and conducted by digital finance analyst firm Javelin Strategy & Research, the current state of financial institutions’ threat landscape is rather alarming.

The research firm finds that today’s businesses need to look view cybersecurity threats as essentially asymmetrical warfare.

The full report can be downloaded here, but key findings are:

  • Economic and political interests can underpin state-sponsored cyber-threats as financial institutions function as lucrative targets
  • Cloud deployments can complicate operations if strategy is not considered thoroughly
  • “Crypto-jacking,” malware hosting, and command-and-control infrastructure attacks are serious threats and should be considered/prepared for as seriously as data breaches
  • Wiper and ransomware attacks are looming and FIs are not prepared to prevent them
  • Authentication is a source of concern, with 40% of FIs worried about unauthorized access.
  • Multi-cloud environments can invite vulnerability, whether by a likelihood of poor configuration management or simple weak understanding of cloud environments.
  • Security teams have a real opportunity to embrace automation.

Orchestrated Risk Management Provider ZeroNorth Secures $10M in Series A+ Funding

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Boston-based ZeroNorth announced today $10 million Series A+ funding. The round was led by Crosslink Capital, with existing investors ClearSky, Rally Ventures, and Petriollo Capital participating.

The company launched in April 2019 with an initial $10 million, and by orchestrating many vulnerability scanning tools, ZeroNorth centralizes security within application security, development, and security operations.

CEO John Worrall said that the funding will enable companies to improve development and security, saying, “Software security has never been more important, but it’s never been this challenging either. Development and security teams are pushed apart by the need for speed, but it doesn’t have to be this way. Security teams can rise to the challenge and speed of DevOps, and orchestration across the development lifecycle is the answer.”