In a development that strengthens its leading position as a provider of  secure mobile enterprise solutions,  BlackBerry has announced that it is buying mobile device management vendor Good Technology for $425 million in cash.

BlackBerry might have a dwindling share of the mobile handset market, losing its once dominant position to Apple and Android-powered smartphones, but it still has a strong presence in government and in enterprises where security of devices and data is an overriding priority. Good Technology is a leading player in the mobile device management sector, with expertise in multi-OS management. By acquiring the company, BlackBerry will expand its ability to offer a unified, secure mobility platform with applications for any mobile device on any operating system.

Good Technology serves more than 6,200 organizations, including commercial banks, aerospace and defence firms, and leaders across healthcare, manufacturing and retail. BlackBerry is the mobility partner of all G7 governments, global banks and law firms, and is strong in managed healthcare, investment services, and oil and gas sectors.

The company will bring complementary capabilities and technologies to BlackBerry, including secure applications and containerisation that protects end user privacy. With 64 percent of activations coming from Apple iOS devices, Good complements BlackBerry’s own OS. The proven Good Dynamics platform provides app-level encryption, advanced data loss prevention and secure communication between applications. The platform has more than 2,000 independent software vendor and custom applications.

“By providing even stronger cross-platform capabilities our customers will not have to compromise on their choice of operating systems, deployment models or any level of privacy and security,” said John Chen, BlackBerry Executive Chairman and CEO. “Like BlackBerry, Good has a very strong presence in enterprises and governments around the world and, with this transaction, BlackBerry will enhance its sales and distribution capabilities and further grow its enterprise software revenue stream.”

“Joining forces enables customers and partners to benefit from the combined decades of secure mobility expertise and deliver the most comprehensive portfolio at global scale. The Good Dynamics platform and broad application suite remains at the heart of the joint solution, and combined with BlackBerry’s enterprise portfolio and trusted global network, will enable us together to deliver a unified secure mobility platform spanning the widest array of endpoints – from smartphones, tablets, PCs, wearables through IoT – to power business productivity any time, anywhere," said  Christy Wyatt, Chairman and CEO, Good Technology.

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