Thursday, December 28, 2006

HP Acquires Mobile Device Management Company

By CXOtoday satff,

HP has signed a definitive agreement to purchase Bitfone Corp., a privately held software and services company that develops software solutions for mobile device management for the wireless industry.

Bitfone is headquartered in Laguna Niguel, Calif., with offices in Canada, China, Korea and the U.K. and approximately 134 employees.

"Mobile device management is a key component to driving widespread mobile IT deployments," said Dave Rothschild, vice president, Handheld Business Unit, Personal Systems Group, HP. "With the acquisition of Bitfone, HP adds mobile device management to a comprehensive management suite that already includes servers, desktops and notebooks."

This acquisition provides HP with software tools for mobile device deployments, migration and replacement.

Bitfone has two main products - mProve and FusionDM. The former is a client-side software suite (residing on the mobile device) comprising of firmware over-the-air (FOTA) and device management (DM) solutions. The latter is an OMA DM standards-based solution consisting of modules for firmware & application management, handset configuration, and diagnostics. It also has an enterprise module. Customers have the option of buying the entire FusionDM framework or individual modules.

"As a leading technology innovator in the mobile device management and wireless space, Bitfone has built a world-class software platform over the past six years," said Gene Wang, chairman & CEO, Bitfone Corp. "We are proud to be joining HP, where we can continue to innovate and provide software solutions that deliver a more compelling mobile experience."

Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to be completed by February 2007.

Following completion, Bitfone will be integrated into the Handheld Business Unit of HP's Personal Systems Group.

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