Citrix has stepped into the mobile device management (MDM) environment with the acquisition of one of the better-known MDM specialists Zenprise, for an undisclosed sum. Citrix was an early advocate of BYOD (internally as well as for its customers) and this acquisition, which should close in Q1 2013, adds to its stack of BYOD-supporting technology.
It will be integrated into Citrix’s CloudGateway and Me@Work software. CloudGateway enables applications to be accessed across a variety of platforms including mobile while Me@Work is a set of applications coving file sharing, virtual meetings and email security.
With Zenprise, Citrix gets the ability to manage mobile devices, applications and data running on a range of platforms, from one environment. It also provides the functionality to apply enterprise-level security to mobile devices. This is particularly important as security on mobile devices has Cinderella-type status. MDM is an important component for vendors looking for mobile credibility as we noted in Breaking mobile market inhibitors. We will also be assessing its significance in a forthcoming report from the ESASViews research stream on security considerations in a cloud and mobile world. SAP and IBM have both acquired their way into the area with Sybase and Worklight respectively (see IBM bolsters mobile with planned Worklight purchase). Expect more of these specialists to be plucked by larger mobile aspirants.