Google Acquires Divide as EMM Market Continues to Evolve

Google (GOOG) is joining in on the momentum in today’s enterprise mobility management (EMM) with an acquisition of its own to grow its Android operating system.

The tech giant has agreed to purchase Divide, a company that provides a cloud-based management platform to help IT manage the risks that come with bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies.

The details of the deal were only revealed in short a blog post yesterday on Divide’s blog, where it was announced that employees would be joining the Google team, specifically Google’s Android’s team:

“We’re thrilled to announce that Divide is joining Google! Divide was founded with a simple mission: Give people the best mobile experience at work. As part of the Android team, we’re excited to continue developing solutions that our users love.

“For existing customers, Divide will work as it always has. Thank you to everyone who has downloaded our app, partnered with us, invested in us and provided feedback along the way; we truly appreciate all your support.”

Google declined to comment on the acquisition — other than what was already stated in the above blog post. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed

Click here for MSPmentor’s mid-year review of the EMM market

Gartner Mobile and Client Computing Research Director Rob Smith told MSPmentor in an interview that Google’s acquisition “signals a major shift in the EMM and containerization space.”

Users expect a native experience for core functionality, such as calendar, email and contacts, instead of having to go through several training sessions to learn how to effectively leverage new personal information managers (PIMs), he pointed out.

“We believe that eventually the OS platforms will incorporate the necessary management capabilities to enable enterprise mobility eliminating the need for additional containerization through secure PIM clients,” he said.

Smith added: “This acquisition by Google clearly puts Android on this path.”

Divide’s flagship platform joins together cloud-based management with device-level technology to provide IT administrators with security and control, while also protecting the privacy of users. 

This acquisition follows Good Technology’s IPO filing last week with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based EMM company hopes to raise $100 million.

Follow CJ Arlotta on Twitter @cjarlotta for further updates on the story above.