AirWatch acquisition is very much about mobile: VMware

VMware, which plays in virtualisation and cloud infrastructure will be acquiring privately-held AirWatch, a US-based provider of strategic enterprise platforms to securely manage a rapidly growing set of mobile devices and an increasingly mobile workforce. The acquisition is expected to be final in late Q1 2014, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. 

AirWatch is expected to strengthen VMware’s End-User Computing group while complementing VMware’s existing portfolio with an expanded portfolio of mobile solutions. 

"AirWatch provides best-in-class, secure, enterprise-mobile management to thousands of businesses around the world,” commented VMware CEO Pat Gelsinger. “With this acquisition, VMware will add a foundational element to our end-user computing portfolio that will enable our customers to turbo-charge their mobile workforce without compromising security.” 

 

AirWatch offers enterprise solutions for mobile device management, mobile application management and mobile content management. The company already has over 10,000 customers world-wide, including the Hong Kong-based DFS Group and the Australian Sports Commission, and a direct presence in Bengaluru, Melbourne and Singapore. 

AirWatch’s Atlanta headquarters in the US is slated to become the centre of VMware’s mobile operations. The AirWatch team will report to Founder and CEO John Marshall as part of VMware’s End-User Computing group, which is led by Sanjay Poonen, EVP and GM. Alan Dabbiere, AirWatch’s Co-founder and Chairman, will oversee a new AirWatch operating board which will report to Pat Gelsinger, CEO of VMware.

In a blog post about the acquisition, Poonen explained that VMware’s vision for end-user computing is about creating a secure virtual workspace where users can move from desktop, to laptop, to tablet, to phone, to car seamlessly, as they wish. "This vision has driven our continued commitment to driving the next generation of the desktop through our Horizon Suite and drove us to acquire Desktone last October to give us a leading Desktop-as-a-Service offering. With today’s news, we take a giant step forward in executing on this vision,“ he said.