IBM has announced the acquisition of private Israeli mobile application and integration firm Worklight, on undisclosed terms.
Worklight’s technology enables firms to more quickly write HTML5 applications that can run on multiple mobile devices and tablets, potentially saving companies the cost and complexity of building proprietary applications for each device. It offers an integrated development environment (IDE) along with associated middleware, management and analytics.
"Our clients are under increased pressure to meet the growing demands of a workforce and customer base that now treat mobility as mission critical to their business," said Marie Wieck, general manager, IBM application and infrastructure middleware. "With the acquisition of Worklight, IBM is well-positioned to help clients become smarter mobile enterprises reaching new markets."
In a recent study conducted by IBM of around 3,000 global CIOs, 75% of respondents identified mobility solutions as one of their top spending priorities, according to the firm.
Worklight cites examples of the value of its write once, run almost anywhere technology including a bank that could create a single application that enables its customers to securely connect to their account, pay bills and manage their investments, regardless of the device they are using. Or a hospital could use Worklight technology to extend its existing IT system to allow direct input of health history, allergies, and prescriptions by a patient using a tablet.
"In the last year, we have seen surging demand from enterprises for mobility solutions that will support the unique set of challenges introduced by new smartphone and tablet platforms," said Shahar Kaminitz, CEO and founder, Worklight. "Building on our existing partnership with IBM, the acquisition of Worklight further enhances IBM’s broad mobile portfolio. Now it will be easier than ever for our clients to offer secure and connected applications to their customers, business partners and employees."
IBM noted that it has been active in the development of open standards like HTML5, co-chairing the W3C HTML5 working group.
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IBM also today announced IBM Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices, a new software system that is claimed to enable corporate users to manage and secure the mobile devices that corporate applications are running on.
