IBM Acquires WorkLight

International Business Machines announced Tuesday it has agreed to acquire WorkLight, an Israeli startup that provides mobile app development and infrastructure software. IBM says the addition will help it expand its enterprise mobile offerings to clients. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed but an Israeli publication called Calcalist said the purchase price was around $70 million.

Having raised about $18 million in capital funding, WorkLight allows companies to develop applications for mobile devices and deliver them to market quickly with advanced security features and analytics. Among its customers are financial services, retail and healthcare companies. A spokesman for IBM says that WorkLight will become a key piece of the company’s mobile offerings.

IBM’s goal involves providing an end-to-end solution allowing enterprises to build and connect their mobile apps, manage security on those apps and provide analytics for mobile data. In addition to WorkLight, the company also unveiled its new Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices Tuesday, a new software system that will enable corporate users to manage and secure their mobile devices as they develop apps for them. WorkLight will become part of IBM’s Software Group when the acquisition closes, which the company expects to occur sometime this quarter.