Google Acquires Divide - Analyst Blog

Google Inc. (GOOGL) recently added one more startup to its portfolio with the acquisition of Divide, a cloud-based mobile device management (“MDM”) company. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, employees of Divide, previously known as Enterproid, will join Google's Android team.

Today, more and more big companies are permitting their employees to connect their own smart devices to the business network, a practice commonly known as Bring Your Own Device, or BYOD. This has raised security concerns within enterprises, particularly when employees started bringing Android devices. Since Apple AAPL and Microsoft MSFT devices are manufactured by one company while Android has multiple hardware partners, there was the advent of a bunch of startups focusing on security for Android devices.

Divide is one such company that created an app to divide an Android device into personal space and corporate space, securing sensitive data and intellectual property of the company. So bringing the technology and engineers in-house could enable Google to build the security into the operating system itself and thereby help its adoption by enterprises.

Divide, a New York-based startup, was founded by ex-Morgan Stanley MS executives primarily with an intention to offer the best mobile experience to employees at work. Divide helps enterprises to manage Android mobile devices used by their employees in a way that conforms to corporate BYOD policy and at the same time maintains the privacy and freedom of employees. In addition, it also allows employers to delete data remotely if the device is misplaced or lost.

Divide is valued at $25 million with investments from Google Ventures, Comcast CMCSA Ventures, Qualcomm QCOM Ventures, Globespan Capital Partners and Harmony Partners. Divide offers an app for iPhones and will continue to provide the service even after the acquisition.

Big technology companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft are striving to build a position in the enterprise market, which was once dominated by Blackberry BBRY.

The acquisition is expected to help Google gain foothold in the enterprise space against other such existing apps like Airwatch, which was acquired by VMware VMW and Sunnyvale's Good Technology.

Google is putting in every effort to maintain its leadership in the technology sector. Reportedly, it is in discussions to purchase Twitch, a live-streaming site, in order to help YouTube establish a foothold in the live-video streaming space and also eliminate competition.

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