Keith Shaw: Hi everybody, welcome to DEMO, the show where companies come in and show us their latest products and platforms. Today, I’m joined by Rodan Zadeh. He is the Director of Product at Apptio, which is an IBM company. Welcome to the show, Rodan. Rodan Zadeh: Thank you.
Keith: So, I think initially when we set this up, you were not part of IBM, but in the process of scheduling, IBM purchased you.
Tell us a little bit about Apptio, how it relates to the IBM acquisition and integration, and then what you’re going to show us here today. Rodan: Absolutely. First of all, thank you for having me on the show.
Apptio is a recent acquisition by IBM, as you mentioned, and our portfolio of products is focused on technology business management — managing the business of technology. What’s interesting is that it’s a fantastic fit for IBM’s IT automation group.
Our goal is to provide customers the ability to build intelligent applications. Before you build something, you want to understand the investment aspect — where is the business value — and be able to manage that as you go.
So, the investment part is key, but it’s also about building, deploying, and managing. In the portfolio, you see several IBM products that complement what we’re doing. It’s a perfect fit for IBM’s larger portfolio in IT automation. Keith: Right.
And if someone is interested in just the Apptio piece, they don’t have to invest in the other IBM offerings, correct? Rodan: Correct. Absolutely. But if they want to, there are complementary solutions available. Keith: Great. So, what are you showing us today? I believe it’s strategic portfolio management?
Rodan: Yes. This product is typically designed for enterprise program management offices (PMOs), as well as many C-suite executives who are responsible for digital transformation and strategic investment decisions. It helps them understand: Are we investing our money in the right areas?
Do we have the right resources to deploy a certain technology? How do we connect business strategy with the technology being built — from the highest level down to the actual implementation?
Keith: So it helps CIOs, IT leaders, and finance teams understand where their technology spending is going, and what kind of impact it’s having on the company? Rodan: Exactly.
It’s about cost visibility — being able to show costs to other parts of the organization through practices like showback or chargeback. It also helps understand resource allocation, both people and infrastructure, and how that work connects to financial impact.
Keith: Okay, so what exactly is strategic portfolio management showing me? Rodan: It gives a holistic view of what’s taking shape in the technology domain — strategy at the highest level, down to specific initiatives and work being delivered.
For example, we integrate data from systems like Workday, SAP, and Jira, so CIOs and CFOs can see a complete picture of investments, people, and outcomes.