LIBERTYVILLE, ILL. – Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc., the mobile-phone maker spun off from Motorola Inc., today bought business software maker Three Laws Mobility Inc., aiming to attract corporate customers with alternatives to the BlackBerry smartphone.
The agreement was completed in late 2010 and terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Increasingly, corporations are testing Apple Inc.’s iPhone and devices such as Motorola’s Droid that run on Google’s Android software as a possible alternatives to Research In Motion’s BlackBerry for corporate e-mail. It’s been reported that Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. are among those considering whether to let their staff use BlackBerry alternatives.
3LM’s technology is designed to enable the adoption of Android devices by businesses and governmental entities. The 3LM technology addresses ease-of-use, cost-of-management and security concerns for IT managers and chief information officers by making Android devices more manageable within corporate environments. 3LM’s solutions provide Android devices with complementary functionality that enables the development of enterprise security features and an IT device management service for Android devices. The acquisition is expected to enable the commercialization of device management services in the second quarter of 2011.
In addition to incorporating the technology into Motorola Mobility products, Motorola intends to make the 3LM solution available to other handset manufacturers. 3LM will continue as a business unit within Motorola, and expects to work with other leading Android device manufacturers, to promote and distribute the 3LM solution for Android in the enterprise.
“Along with their technology, the 3LM team brings deep knowledge and expertise in the development of enterprise security features and software for Android,” said Christy Wyatt, corporate vice president of software and services product management for Motorola Mobility. “With 3LM, we are excited to be able to work across the Android ecosystem to accelerate the adoption of Android devices by corporate users and their IT departments. We are excited to welcome 3LM’s talented personnel to the Motorola Mobility team.”
