IBM Acquires Mobile Provider Worklight

IBM (Armonk, N.Y.) today announced an agreement to acquire Worklight, an Israeli-based provider of mobile software for smartphones and tablets. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IBM said Worklight will become an important part of it's mobile strategy, offering clients an open platform that helps implement the delivery of existing and new mobile applications to multiple devices. It also helps enable secure connections between smartphone and tablet applications with enterprise IT systems, the company said.

According to a recent study conducted by IBM of more than 3,000 global CIOs, 75 percent of respondents identified mobility solutions as one of their top spending priorities. Coupled with the news that, for the first time, shipments of smartphones exceeded total PC shipments in 2011, IBM said ramping up its mobile portfolio is more important than ever.

"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."

Bryan Yurcan is associate editor for Bank Systems and Technology. He has worked in various editorial capacities for newspapers and magazines for the past 8 years. After beginning his career as a municipal and courts reporter for daily newspapers in upstate New York, Bryan has ... View Full Bio