Symantec to acquire Nukona to assist in BYOD strategy

Symantec today announced it has reached an agreement to acquire privately held Nukona, a maker of mobile application management software, for an undisclosed price.

Symantec indicated the acquisition of Mountain View-based Nukona, expected to be concluded in April, is intended to further its strategy in managing and securing Apple iOS, Google Android and HTML5 apps, especially when the smartphone or tablet is owned by the employee but permitted for business use by the employer.

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This "bring your own device" (BYOD) phenomenon, as it's called, is becoming increasingly prevalent in the enterprise and forcing IT managers to look to new management approaches.

Nukona's mobile management software includes an "enterprise apps store" for app distribution and a "policy manager" that can wrap apps in a management layer that allows IT to apply security policies for purposes such as authentication, enforcing encryption or setting restrictions.

C.J. Desai, Symantec's senior vice president, endpoint and mobility group, said the Nukona acquisition "will help organizations protect and isolate corporate data and applications across both corporate-owned and personally owned devices."

Earlier this month, Symantec also acquired Odyssey Software, a provider of mobile device management software as a foundation to enroll and manage all necessary device settings across a broad range of platforms.

Ellen Messmer is senior editor at Network World, an IDG publication and website, where she covers news and technology trends related to information security.

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