Good Technology announced May 27 that it has acquired Intercasting, which focuses on connectivity for mobile social networking. The two companies did not disclose the specific dollar amount of the deal.
Good Technology, a name doubtlessly familiar to many people who send messages using Palm Treos and other mobile handsets, provides a platform for mobile services such as enterprise wireless messaging, mobile VPN data access and device management. It is currently implemented by a number of enterprises, including a number that are in the Fortune 500 and Fortune 50.
In a statement, Good Technology suggested that the integration of Intercasting’s communication ecosystem, centered around its Anthem platform, would allow Good to expand beyond the smartphone market and “into the billion-plus feature phone market.”
The Anthem platform allows for the integration of e-mail, instant messaging, social networking and other services into native device functionality.
“Combining our Anthem solution and technology with Good’s patented push technology will create the most versatile and open real-time synchronization platform for a broad range of applications available today,” Shawn Conahan, founder and CEO of Intercasting, said in a statement.
In 2007, Good was acquired by Motorola for about $400 million, in the hopes that it would help challenge Research In Motion in the enterprise mobile e-mail market. However, as Motorola’s phone sales dipped, Motorola decided in February 2009 to sell Good to service provider Visto in order to streamline its core business processes.
Good has further solidified its usefulness to the enterprise through applications such as Good Mobile Messaging for IBM Lotus Domino, designed to provide a viable alternative to a similar offering for RIM’s BlackBerry smartphones. It also sells Good Mobile Messaging for Microsoft Exchange.