IBM, a leading technology company, has announced its acquisition of Apptio, a platform specializing in tracking data in hybrid environments, for a significant sum of $4.6 billion in cash. The move aims to reinforce IBM’s commitment to hybrid cloud services and optimize IT spend management for businesses.

Apptio, previously owned by Vista Equity Partners, offers valuable solutions for monitoring and analyzing data usage and costs in hybrid cloud environments. IBM plans to integrate Apptio with its existing IT automation software and AI platform, enabling the development and sale of comprehensive solutions to enhance IT stack management and optimization.

This acquisition aligns with IBM’s strategic goal of modernizing its product and service offerings. By expanding its services and systems integrations businesses, IBM will be better equipped to address the evolving needs of modern companies, particularly in terms of cost management and financial impact.

Arvind Krishna, CEO and chairman of IBM, emphasized the significance of optimizing technology investments: “Apptio’s offerings combined with IBM’s IT automation software and Watson AI platform give clients the most comprehensive approach to optimize and manage all of their technology investments.”

The acquisition provides IBM with Apptio’s extensive customer base of 1,500 enterprises, including over half of the Fortune 100 companies. Moreover, it brings valuable integrations and partnerships with major cloud service providers like Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud Platform, Salesforce, ServiceNow, Oracle, and SAP. This synergy will allow IBM to expand its services and potentially upsell to existing clients.

The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of 2023, subject to regulatory and other approvals.