At VMWorld Europe, virtualization kingpin VMware announced plans to augment its mobile management suite with the purchase of startup Boxer.
The Texas-based company founded in 2012 has built an email management app for Android and iOS that’s gained popularity in the consumer market. It aggregates email from Exchange, GMail, Yahoo, iCloud and AOL, among others and integrates with apps such as Evernote, DropBox, Salesforce, Box, Twitter and many others. Boxer’s tagline “A better inbox” has roots in its ability to triage email with simple swipes to archive, reply or auto-respond, or send to one of the programs the app integrates with. It also has a calendar function.
For VMware, the acquisition will boost its End User Computing division, which creates software for managing enterprises workers’ mobile devices. “For business users, the most ubiquitous mission critical application is email, VMware’s GM of End User Computing (EUC) Sanjay Poonen wrote in a blog post announcing the deal. “Boxer has developed a next generation personal information management (PIM) solution for enterprises that bridges essential business applications with leading productivity, enterprise and social networking solutions.”
In another blog post, the CTO of VMware’s EUC unit, Noah Wasmer notes that Boxer uses a container approach to mobile app management and security. Boxer will fold into VMware’s AirWatch division, which the company bought for $1.5 billion last year.
The Boxer acquisition – which had an undisclosed price, but should close next year – continues VMware’s pivot beyond core infrastructure virtualization management products and toward mobile device management. And it comes on the heels of a major corporate overhaul at VMware with its parent company, EMC being sold to Dell.
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