BlackBerry to buy mobile security firm Good Technology for $425 million

Enlarge Image
BlackBerry has made another acquisition to strengthen its enterprise business under the helm of CEO John Chen.
Nate Ralph/CNET

BlackBerry is making a new acquisition that could help it win over more business customers.

On Friday, BlackBerry announced that it has agreed to purchase Good Technology for $425 million in cash. Based in California, Good Technology offers secure email, applications and communications services to large companies and government agencies. Good and BlackBerry have actually been fierce competitors at times in the area of secure mobile communications.

By gobbling up Good, BlackBerry not only gets rid of a rival but also cements its leadership position in delivering secure emails and other communications in the workplace. The move is part of BlackBerry’s larger shift toward more business-centric services after individual smartphone users and even corporate buyers bailed on it and embraced Apple’s iPhone and gadgets running Google’s Android software.

Good will also deliver to Waterloo, Ontario-based BlackBerry a wider lineup of enterprise and government customers. It currently sells its products and services to more than 6,200 organizations, with more than half on the Fortune 100. Among those are all of the Fortune 100 commercial banks, aerospace and defense firms as well as companies in the healthcare, manufacturing and retail industries.

With the addition of Good, BlackBerry said it plans to expand its ability to offer a secure mobile platform with applications for any mobile device on any operating system. Good already has experience managing devices using Android, Microsoft’s Windows and Apple’s iOS software. BlackBerry is looking to combine that experience with its own expertise in both BlackBerry 10 and Android management to offer customers the ability to support the operating system and devices of their choice.

“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,” BlackBerry CEO John Chen said in a press release. “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. “

BlackBerry expects the deal to be completed in November, subject to the usual regulatory approvals and closing conditions.

Check Also

8 New Google Products We Expect to See This Year

Google’s device line could end up having a particularly important moment in 2023. The company usually announces new Pixel products throughout the year. Google is expected to release its first foldable phone this year, however, which would directly compete with Samsung’s proven line of Galaxy Z Fold devices. Google also introduced its own ChatGPT rival, …

Leave a Reply

© 2024 News Today
External links are provided for reference purposes. News Today is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites.