Juniper to pay $70M for mobile device security company

Juniper Networks Inc. (JNPR) is paying $70 million to acquire SMobile Systems Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based software company that specializes in mobile device security for smart phones and tablets.
The deal gives Juniper another tool in its Juno Pulse platform, which was announced earlier this year at Mobile World Congress. Adding the SMobile security software to the Juno Pulse network client gives service providers an end-to-end solution, from infrastructure to behind the Virtual Private Network firewall and to the device, said Sanjay Beri, Juniper VP and GM, Access and Acceleration business unit. The SMobile solution works on Google Inc.’s Android operating system, Apple Inc.’s OS, Research in Motion Ltd.’s BlackBerry platform, Nokia Corp.’s Symbian platform and Microsoft Corp.’s Windows Mobile OS.
While security is important to businesses, it also is important to mass-market consumers as they access the Internet from their smart devices to do everything from mobile banking to downloading content, said Dan Hoffman, EVP and CTO of SMobile. Operators, meanwhile, can use the solution as a potential revenue generator by selling their customers lock/locate and wipe solutions, parental controls and other security options.
As more businesses and consumers adopt smart phones, it is important to have security solutions in both the network and on the device because even if the network says the user is OK to access to the enterprise VPN, the device also needs to make sure there is no malware located on the device in order to protect the enterprise, Beri noted.
“Security breaches in today’s mobile environment are growing threats that impact everyone,” said Mark Bauhaus, executive vice president and general manager, Services Layer Technologies at Juniper Networks in a prepared statement. “Juniper already secures the majority of smart phone traffic in the United States, is a global leader in high-end firewalls and the SSL VPN(2) market, and enables more than 25 million end users to remotely and securely connect their PCs and smart phones to corporate networks. Integrating SMobile’s portfolio into Junos Pulse will provide users with the most comprehensive mobile security solution available on the market.”
As part of the acquisition, SMobile’s 30 employees will work for Juniper, once the deal officially closes.