Apptio’s Nick Barber on IBM integration: ‘We want partners able to consult, deliver, manage and integrate across the platform’

The EMEA channel VP talks margins, MSP investment and AI maturity

When IBM acquired cloud cost management specialist Apptio in 2023, there were inevitable questions about whether the SaaS vendor would lose the culture and operating model that had underpinned its channel-led growth.

For Nick Barber, regional VP of alliances for EMEA, the answer has been a careful balancing act: keeping Apptio’s DNA while plugging into IBM’s global ecosystem.

“Apptio remains an intact business unit inside IBM,” Barber tells CRN.

“That’s meant we’ve been able to keep our partner operating model – the way we work with partners, the way we compensate our teams, the budgets we control – because SaaS requires a different approach. IBM recognised that.”

That doesn’t mean nothing has changed. Barber and his team have spent the past year educating IBM’s sizeable ecosystem organisation on why Apptio’s model matters, while also learning to use IBM’s Partner Plus programme.

“The biggest change has been working out how we can maximise Partner Plus while still keeping the principles of our own model,” he explains.

Partner programme and priorities

All Apptio partners successfully migrated into IBM’s Partner Plus framework, which Barber describes as a step up in terms of training rigour, marketing funds and margin potential.

He adds: “Apptio keeps its own partner marketing budget, but our partners also benefit from IBM’s funding for events and campaigns.

“Margins are actually better now than they were under Apptio alone.”

Looking to 2026, Barber identifies two priorities.

First is helping partners respond to tighter timelines: “Gone are the days when customers gave you four to six months to take costs out.

“Now partners are being asked to deliver in four to eight weeks.

“We’ve had to adapt our solutions so they can do rapid cost-cutting projects but also educate clients that cost optimisation is a discipline, not a one-off.”

Second is specialisation. “Right now, most partners focus on one tool.

“A handful can deliver across all three of our major solutions.

“Our bold goal is to build one of the most advanced SaaS partner channels around FinOps and IT financial management.

“[We want] partners able to consult, deliver, manage and integrate across the platform.”

Channel mix

Across EMEA, around 70 per cent of Apptio transactions are supported by GSI's, VARs or MSPs, with the balance handled by global systems integrators, according to Barber.

GSI revenue accounts for 65 per cent of the partner related revenue but the VAR/MSP revenue whilst being 35% of the partner revenue is the fastest growing and scaling at 2X previous years

Yet the revenue split skews the other way: “The lion’s share of revenue still sits with the GSI channel because those deals are larger,” Barber says.

“The VAR and MSP community is all about scaling: high growth, lots of transactions, but smaller in size.”

He stresses the acquisition has boosted Apptio’s reach.

“One of the benefits is we’ve grown our sales force by 60 per cent, working in overlay with IBM’s own teams,” he notes.

Crucially, IBM’s Select territory – tens of thousands of mid-sized customers that IBM prefers to reach through partners – has opened up fresh opportunity for Apptio’s ecosystem.

Market maturity and opportunity

Scaling across Europe remains a challenge. “Market maturity plays a big part,” Barber admits.

“In less mature markets there’s a lack of capability and experience in the channel.

“We’ve had to put a lot of work into education, enablement and funding. We’re essentially educating the market together with the channel.”

Finding partners able to bridge IT and finance is another sticking point.

“We need partners who can talk both IT and finance language.

“That’s not easy to find. It’s tricky to teach, but we can help by recruiting the right people and building the right programmes.”

As for opportunities, Barber sees two front and centre: cloud cost maturity assessments and AI.

“The biggest opportunity is for partners to lean in on maturity assessments to help clients see where they are today and where they need to be.

“And with AI, the explosion is clear. The challenge now is measuring value.

“We’ve launched an AI TCO and usage product to help customers right-size their investment.”

MSP partner of the year

Barber points to Telefónica Tech, named IBM Apptio’s MSP Partner of the Year, as a standout example.

“They were the first to adopt our new FinOps MSP solution and help us steer product direction.

“What sets them apart is their hybrid view, not just cloud, but on-prem as well. That’s exactly the kind of expertise customers need.”

With Apptio continuing to post double-digit growth under IBM, Barber’s stated ambition is clear:

“Our mission is to bring both the Apptio and IBM ecosystems up to the same high level of SaaS capability.

“If we can achieve that, we’ll not only have scale, we’ll have the depth of expertise to lead this market.”