Google buys company that helps companies manage smartphones

Google has acquired American startup Divide for an undisclosed sum. The software developer announced this on his site on Monday. Divide will continue its activities as far as is known.

With Divide, companies can use their employees’ personal smartphones to set up enterprise applications there as well. They run in a protected and encrypted environment, separate from the employee’s personal applications and settings.

Divide is reminiscent of BlackBerry Enterprise Server, with which about the same is possible. Presumably, Google wants to use the technology of the start-up to compete with BlackBerry. Divide says the Android and iOS apps it now offers will continue to exist after Google’s acquisition.

The American start-up was founded by former executives of the American bank Morgan Stanley. They were involved in information technology at the bank and decided to start their own business. The goal with Divide is to let employees choose which device they want to use, while companies can continue to manage the applications intended for work remotely.