As the need to secure mobile devices grows ever more critical, Juniper Networks, a California-based networking equipment maker, is jumping into the fray, buying SMobile Systems to round out its smartphone and tablet computer security services for enterprises, consumers and service providers.
Juniper Networks will pay about $70 million in cash for SMobile; the company did not say when the deal will close. When it does, though, Juniper will add SMobile’s software to its Junos Pulse platform; together, the systems will protect devices running on the Android, Apple iOS, Symbian, BlackBerry and Windows Mobile operating systems from viruses, spyware, identity theft and other breaches. The technology also comes with parental and enterprise controls.
Juniper said it already secures most smartphone traffic in the United States and enables 25 million end-users to remotely connect and secure their PCs and mobile devices to corporate networks. Analyst firm Infonetics Research projects the value of the mobile security market to hit more than $1 billion by 2014 as smartphones, netbooks and similar products become the information-exchange devices of choice.
Shares of Juniper were trading 1.28 percent lower, reaching $27.72, by about 2:45 p.m. Eastern.
