Google acquires Divide as it seeks to make Android more appealing to enterprise customers

Google has snapped up Divide, the team behind a mobile app that offers a secure means of separating personal and work-related data on company-owned devices. As Recode reports, the team was formerly called Enterproid and the terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Divide confirmed the deal on its site. Although the team will be joining the folks Google – presumably to work on new projects – it said the Divide app “will work as it always has” for existing customers. Although the app isn’t being shut down for now, there’s still every possibility it’ll happen in the future.

“The company was founded with a simple mission: Give people the best mobile experience at work,” the Divide site reads. “As part of the Android team, we’re excited to continue developing solutions that our users love.”

The acquisition of Divide is timely, given that Google is reportedly working on new business-specific features for the next version of Android. The Information reported in March that the push was being led by Google senior vice-president Sundar Pichai as a means of taking on the now fading leader BlackBerry, as well as new offerings from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

A new version of Android could be announced at Google’s annual I/O conference next month, so it’s unlikely that we’ll see Divide’s impact in the forthcoming firmware update. Nevertheless, the deal validates Google’s interest in the enterprise market and lends weight to the rumors that its next Android update could target business customers.

➤ Divide | Google Play | App Store (via Recode)

Featured image credit:  KIMIHIRO HOSHINO/AFP/Getty Images