Data center and cloud computing networking software specialist Juniper
Networks has announced the acquisition of SMobile Systems, a privately held
software company specializing in smartphone and tablet security solutions for
the enterprise, service provider and consumer markets, for the sum of
approximately $70 million in cash.
Juniper did not disclose how the two companies will integrate their
respective work forces.
SMobile's products protect devices running on Android, Apple iOS (which
powers iPhones and iPads), Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating
systems from viruses, spyware, identity theft and other threats, while
providing parental and enterprise controls. Juniper said it plans to integrate SMobile's
product portfolio into Junos Pulse, a software platform that brings
connectivity, security and acceleration to smartphones, tablets, netbooks and
notebooks.
Mark Bauhaus, Juniper's executive vice president and general manager of
services layer technologies, said security breaches in today's mobile
environment are growing threats that impact everyone. "Juniper already
secures the majority of smartphone traffic in the United
States, is a global leader in high-end
firewalls and the SSL VPN market, and
enables more than 25 million end users to remotely and securely connect their
PCs and smartphones to corporate networks," he said.
The acquisition fits into Juniper's strategy to boost software selling and
encourage development of the company's Junos platform for the mobile client security
market. A recent report by industry analyst firm Infonetics Research found the
mobile client security market is projected to grow to more than $1 billion by
2014. "Integrating SMobile's portfolio into Junos Pulse will provide users
with the most comprehensive mobile security solution available on the market,"
Bauhaus said.
"The SMobile mission has always been to secure, manage and control all
mobile devices, ensuring the Internet in your hand is safe and reliable—for
enterprises, consumers and service providers," said Neil Book, president
and CEO of SMobile. "We are excited and
energized about the opportunity to leverage Juniper's world-class organization
and global sales channel to continue to provide the most feature-rich and
robust mobile security solutions in the market."
Last week, Juniper released preliminary second-quarter results for the year,
reporting net revenues for Q2 2010 increasing 24 percent on a year-over-year
basis to $978.3 million and generating net cash from operations for Q2 2010 of
$221.3 million, compared with net cash provided by operations of $88.5 million
(after litigation settlement payments of $169.3 million) in the first quarter
of 2010. Capital expenditures, as well as depreciation and amortization expense
during Q2 2010, were $45.4 million and $37.5 million, respectively.
Cloud Computing 
