Tech giant IBM will buy technology expense management provider Apptio from Vista Equity Partners for $4.6 billion, according to an announcement today.

Apptio provides services to Bank of America, Allstate, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, and was acquired by Vista Equity in 2019 for $1.94 billion, according to the company.

“Apptio is a growing and profitable business that we believe will drive significant synergies across several key growth areas for IBM, including automation, Red Hat, IBM’s broader AI portfolio, and IBM Consulting, as well as strong partnership with other leading systems integrators like Accenture, KPMG, Deloitte and EY,” an IBM spokesperson told Bank Automation News. As a major push into cloud computing, IBM bought Red Hat in 2019 for $34 billion.  

“A large portion of our clients are from the financial services industry, and we expect the enhancements that will come out of this acquisition to be a significant value add for financial institutions operating in complex, multi-cloud environments,” the spokesman added.   

The acquisition will help IBM lean into its hybrid-cloud and AI goals, according to the release. Apptio will join the tech giant’s automation business within IBM Software, the IBM spokesperson told BAN.  

Apptio has strong roots in the financial industry “as this industry formed the roots of our technology business management methodology and product,” Sunny Gupta, CEO of Apptio, told BAN.  

IBM will “extend Apptio’s global reach and scale, empowering thousands of new customers to advance their overall technology spend and value management,” including those in the financial services sector, Gupta said.  

IBM expands 

IBM continues to deepen its ties within the financial services industry. Last month it joined forces with Qatar National Bank to digitize its platform and launch its center of excellence for generative AI, where clients, including financial institutions, can look to consultants for expertise, use cases, risk mitigation and advancements in the technology, as reported by BAN. 

“Financial services organizations are digitally transforming their businesses faster than ever, causing their IT environments to expand across public and private clouds, with multiple service providers,” the IBM spokesperson said. “Apptio helps banks and other companies manage this dramatic increase in complexity.” 

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