Finnish wireless giant Nokia on Tuesday announced a $21
million stock-swap deal to acquire Eizel Technologies as part of plans to
beef up its mobile enterprise offerings.
The Pittsburgh-based Eizel, a start-up founded in 2000 by scientists from
Carnegie Mellon University, will be folded into Nokia’s enterprise network
security division once the acquisition closes.
Eizel, a portfolio company of ITU Ventures, markets server-based products
that transform e-mail messages, attachments, intranet applications and web
content into formats that can be accessed by mobile devices.
Nokia said the addition of Eizel would strengthen its Internet
Communications unit, which develops software for enterprise clients in need
of real-time wireless access to Internet and intranet content on mobile
devices.
“Until now, accessing business content and enterprise applications on the
Internet without a wired broadband connection has been an unfriendly user
experience. This new technology will change that,” said John Robinson,
senior VP of Nokia Internet Communications.
Eizel’s technology uses artificial intelligence, machine learning,
pattern recognition and natural language processing. Because it is
server-based, Eizel’s products do not require alteration of source content or additional client-side software, a key feature for enterprise clients.
Nokia said Eizel’s ‘on-the-fly’ reformatting of source content to fit the form factor of the mobile device would be a valuable tool to add to its enterprise offerings.
The Eizel software supports SSL encryption and LDAP-based authentication
to ensure secure access and Nokia said it fits perfectly into its grand
plans to offer secure mobile connectivity software for businesses.
