14 DAY TRIAL // Google has purchased Divide, a team that has been working on a mobile app that offers a safe and secure way to separate your personal and work data on devices that are owned by companies.
Divide has already confirmed the news on its site with a rather short announcement. “We’re thrilled to announce that Divide is joining Google! The company was founded with a simple mission: Give people the best mobile experience at work. As part of the Android team, we’re excited to continue developing solutions that our users love,” the Divide Team writes on the site.
Unlike many other occasions when purchased tools quickly get shut down, Divide will live on. The tool will continue to work as it always has, although there will be a lot of improvements and cross-integration with Google’s tools in the near future.
The acquisition makes sense since Google is rumored to be working on new aspects for the next Android version which will be dedicated to businesses. According to a previous report from The Information, Senior Vice President Sundar Pichai had been adamant about taking Android in this new direction which would allow it to take on the likes of BlackBerry.
“Divide delivers the ultimate mobile productivity tool to get work done securely on your Android device. Check your work email, view your calendar, look up contacts and more, all in one encrypted workspace without worrying about your privacy or the threat of your company wiping your device. Divide syncs with Exchange ActiveSync, Google Apps, and Lotus Notes and offers a complete BYOD solution for individuals and IT,” reads Divide’s app presentation, explaining just what it can do.
Being able to establish a clear delimitation between business and personal content on a phone is particularly handy, and users can simply access the Divide workspace by typing in a password. All data in the Workspace is encrypted.
It is expected that at least part of the future of Android will be announced at the Google I/O conference next month, so the new features built with the help of Divide will surely be left out for now. Nevertheless, it makes all rumors regarding the next Android version even more believable.
Divide managed to raise about $25 million (€18.25 million) in investments from Google Ventures, Comcast Ventures, Qualcomm Ventures, Harmony Partners, and Globespan Capital Partners. The price tag attached to the deal has not been mentioned by either Google or Divide, and we may never know it exactly.