Blackberry has announced the acquisition of mobile security firm – Good Technology for a sum of $425 million in cash to bolster it’s leadership in secure cross-platform mobility. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of Blackberry’s 2016 third fiscal quarter and is still subjected to customary closing conditions including regulatory approvals.
With the acquisition, Good Technology would be integrated into Blackberry’s enterprise portfolio and trusted global network. It also aligns with the company’s strategy to offer customers the most complete, end-to-end solution that secures the entire mobile enterprise, across all platforms.
Commenting on the acquisition, Blackberry CEO, John Chen said;
“By acquiring Good, BlackBerry will better solve one of the biggest struggles for CIOs today, especially those in regulated industries: securely managing devices across any platform. By providing even stronger cross-platform capabilities our customers will not have to compromise on their choice of operating systems, deployment models or any level of privacy and security. Like BlackBerry, Good has a very strong presence in enterprises and governments around the world and, with this transaction, BlackBerry will enhance its sales and distribution capabilities and further grow its enterprise software revenue stream.”
The CEO and Chairman of Good Technology, Christy Wyatt said;
“Enterprise customers today demand stringent security and the most flexible platform across all mobility strategies. We are excited to join BlackBerry, where together we will be the most comprehensive mobile platform in the market. Good has worked hard to deliver the highest levels of security across operating systems and applications. Our trusted Good solutions will also help BlackBerry to accelerate its Internet of Things platform for managing endpoints beyond mobile devices.”
With Good’s expertise in multi-OS management (Android, iOS and Windows Phone), Blackberry (Blackberry 10 and Android Management – including Samsung KNOX-enabled devices) would be able to expand its ability to offer cross EMM solutions critical in these eras of BYOD (Bring Your Own Devices) and COPE (Corporate Owned, Personally Enabled) as well as to companies using multiple user interfaces and operating systems.
Source: Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
