Good Technology Acquires AppCentral To Bolster iOS, Android And WP App Security, Manageability And Distribution In BYOD Era

Secure enterprise mobility company Good Technology, which makes products for securing and managing the mix of mobile devices finding their way into businesses thanks to the BYOD (bring your own device) trend, has announced it is acquiring mobile application management and enterprise app store firm AppCentral – another company riding the BYOD device wave, by offering businesses a cloud-based repository to simplify distribution and management of enterprise apps. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The pair said the acquisition will “extend the capabilities” of Good Technology’s Good Dynamics platform — which allows enterprises to secure, control and distribute apps — by adding AppCentral’s AppGuardian application wrapper and also by incorporating its mobile application management technologies. Adding an app wrapper adds an extra later of security and threat mitigation to enterprise apps. “The combination of AppCentral’s enterprise app storefront and ‘app wrapping’ capabilities with the Good Dynamics platform will deliver the scalability and control needed to manage mobile apps across iOS, Android, and Windows devices,” the press release notes.

Here’s more on exactly what Good Technology sees AppCentral bringing to its platform

AppCentral’s ‘app wrapping’ capability builds upon the application security framework, libraries and services available in the Good Dynamics platform. With the addition of AppCentral, Good Dynamics provides enterprise developers and Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) with the option to either add an application security ‘wrapper’ without code integration, or integrate Good Dynamics security libraries directly into their application code. While both approaches provide enterprise-grade application security, code integration delivers additional benefits, such as enabling developers to define app-specific policies (e.g. controlling file access in collaboration apps based on size, type, or other attributes) and to publish app services that multiple apps can utilize without having to duplicate code across every app (e.g. “directory lookup”, “search”, etc.).

The transaction closed yesterday. All app AppCentral staff will become full-time employees of Good Technology. The AppCentral headquarters in San Francisco, California will become a Good Technology office.

“Our goal is to help make it easy for our customers to securely mobilize and empower their workforces with a wide range of devices and productivity applications,” said King Lee, president and CEO, of Good Technology in a statement. “Our acquisition of AppCentral will accelerate and enhance our ability to provide enterprises, ISVs and systems integrators with the ability to secure and manage mobile apps, helping them maximize the power of mobility.”

Farrah Fawcett Arnold Schwarzenegger