Apptio Costing has some flaws; I cannot say it is perfect. It has some dependency in terms of time-consuming processes, and at times I need to wait for a set of calculations to complete, which falls on the TBM's shoulders to design the configuration to reduce calculation time. There are multiple measures, and Apptio's product developers propose options to reduce stage calculation time that I as a TBM need to follow. For example, I should avoid nested statements and more than one lookup in a single formula step during configuration. If data quality is poor, I face limitations, and the wait time is a drawback identified since IBM's acquisition of Apptio. They are addressing it based on feedback from clients using Apptio Costing. As of today, the AI capabilities within Apptio Costing are very limited. They have a roadmap and plan to enhance AI capabilities by the end of 2027. Recently, they initiated a chatbot using natural language processing options, which allows users to interact with Apptio Costing directly without depending on reports, making it easier to have one-to-one conversations. This is a good feature that IBM has recently implemented within the Cost Transparency module, and I am still expecting more from them.
