The latest shakeup in the wireless enterprise market claimed struggling AvantGo Inc., as software infrastructure and integration company Sybase Inc. purchased the company in a $38 million cash merger.
Sybase will add AvantGo to its iAnywhere Solutions subsidiary, which makes software that allows workers to put enterprise database information on their personal digital assistants or mobile phones. iAnywhere managed to increase its share of its mobile database market from 68 percent in 2000 to 73 percent in 2001, according to research firm Gartner. Such a move was notable, the firm said, as the overall size of the market shrank to $68 million in 2001.
Through the deal, iAnywhere said it will add wireless access to Web-based enterprise information to its mobile database products. The company will also continue to operate the well known My AvantGo mobile Web service, which now counts about 7 million registered users. Those in the industry said the iAnywhere/AvantGo combination represents a boon for both companies.
“You can create richer database applications,” said Brian Vink, iAnywhere’s vice president and general manager. “The most compelling Web sites are database driven.”
Using iAnywhere’s software and products, workers are able to take enterprise database information with them outside the office. The information can be put onto a laptop computer or PDA using the company’s synchronization software and a wired or wireless connection. iAnywhere mainly sells its products through resellers such as Siebel Systems Inc., Cisco Systems Inc. and others, but it also counts insurance company Prudential, Federal Express and others as direct customers.
AvantGo’s products allow businesses to make their Web-based enterprise information available to wireless devices, such as mobile phones. The company counts Ford Motor Co., CNN and others as customers. As a side business, the company also operates My AvantGo, which gives mobile users access to a range of news and information services. Vink said the combination of the companies’ products will allow customers to access Web-based enterprise information as well as business databases using mobile devices. Through the deal, iAnywhere will open its database products to enterprise Web developers, and will sell AvantGo’s products through its Sybase channels.
The deal is especially important for AvantGo, which has been struggling along with the rest of the wireless enterprise market. In September, the company’s chief executive officer, Richard Owen, stepped down shortly after AvantGo’s shares were delisted from the Nasdaq National Market. And before that, the company cut 40 percent of its work force. iAnywhere’s Vink said no cuts are planned yet due to the acquisition. AvantGo now counts about 100 employees, while iAnywhere has about 250.
AvantGo isn’t alone in its troubles. Mobilocity recently shut down, while many other wireless enterprise companies have been acquired. iAnywhere’s Vink said the market has been tight, but that the company sees a light at the end of the tunnel.
“We recognize now that it’s a little sluggish,” he said. “But we do recognize that there will be spending in this area.” RCR
