Both Divide as Good Technology are two startups that develop technology in the promising and necessary field of MDM (Mobile Device Management), a field that encompasses a series of technologies and solutions that seek to solve the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) crossroads. The tendency of workers to use their own devices is shaking medium-sized companies and large corporations and, above all, their IT departments.
With the rapid emergence of advanced tablets and smartphones in the consumer market controlling the introduction of personal communication devices into the workplace has become a real challenge and this is giving IT managers a lot of headaches as they struggle to maintain some control over their networks and not compromise their security, compatibility, and reliability standards.The use of personal applications along with the increasing The use of applications in the cloud only increases the challenge.
“IT guys can do as they please…I’ll just keep using Dropbox, Gmail and Whatsapp for work” we all seem to think.But what are the global consequences? security, privacy and accessibility can have the use of these tools in the office? To solve this problem, companies such as Divide or Good Technology are emerging that develop applications that manage to maintain a certain order in the workspace. This market, called MDM, will reach $1.6 billion by 2014 according to Gartner estimates.
Competition is already tough in an area that some of the more established IT vendors like Citrix or VMWare among others. Showever, the commitment of startups is also beginning to be important. Divide just achieved a $12 million funding round from Google Ventures and Good Technology raised $50M in April on its way to the stock market. Without a doubt we will see how this market will consolidate over the next few years and many of the big software makers make big acquisitions. Is there still room for European startups? Europe’s tiny software industry could seize some growth opportunity in this emerging field.