Change happens fast in enterprise mobility—here’s a few from last week you might have missed.
Microsoft
Microsoft acquired HockeyApp, a provider of a mobile app crash analytics for software developers.
S. Somasegar, Corporate VP of the Developer Division at Microsoft, commented on the acquisition:
“We will integrate HockeyApp into the Application Insights service in Visual Studio Online to expand Application Insights support for iOS and Android. HockeyApp offers a range of mobile development services enabling developers to develop, distribute and beta test mobile app—including crash reporting, distribution and feedback, and cross-platform capabilities.
In the coming months, we will introduce new iOS and Android SDKs for Application Insights based on the features of HockeyApp. Integrating HockeyApp crash reports with Application Insights usage analytics will extend device support across all major mobile platforms and make app analytics an ambient part of the app development cycle with support for all tiers of a modern “mobile first, cloud first “solution.”
KidoZen
KidoZen appointed Mike Morini as President, COO and a member of the board of directors. Morini brings over 25 years of enterprise software experience to this new role. Previously, he served as Global COO for SAP’s Cloud business—where he oversaw the execution of the company’s Cloud acquisitions and their integration into the SAP HR, CRM and BI lines of business.
“We welcome Mike’s extensive leadership, knowledge and experience to the KidoZen family, “said Jesus Rodriguez, CEO of KidoZen. “As president and COO, he is tasked with managing the day-to-day operations and driving the business into the future. His proven track record in scaling enterprise software companies will have an immediate impact in driving our global expansion.”
Morini has created and led global software operations and sales organizations, and is accomplished in increasing shareholder value at multi-billion dollar organizations. Prior to SAP, he was President and CEO of Aria Systems. He has also served as president of global operations for Outlook Soft Corp. acquired by SAP in 2007, and has held executive leadership roles at InterWorld Corp., SS&C Technologies and Advent Software.
American Express
American Express opened a new technology hub in Palo Alto, CA to expand its presence in Silicon Valley. The new team being assembled will focus on innovations in big data, cloud computing and mobile infrastructure.
“Technology innovation is driving the company’s ongoing digital transformation, and our team in Silicon Valley is focusing on core capabilities that we expect to be key to our ability to continue to innovate and move our business forward,” said Marc Gordon, EVP and CIO. “By developing infrastructure and frameworks to be used broadly across the organization, the team in Palo Alto will play a crucial role in our global business growth and future success.”
CTO Nik Sathe, who previously served in executive roles at Google and PayPal—overseeing the development of digital payments capabilities and platforms—will be the senior executive based at the Palo Alto hub. Over time, the company expects to employ 200 individuals at the new location.
The Palo Alto hub also houses the American Express Ventures team, which since 2011 has been investing in early stage start-ups in the areas of digital commerce, financial inclusion and core capabilities such as data and analytics, security and servicing.
Apperian
Apperian Inc. promoted Brian Day to the role of CEO. Day will succeed David Patrick, who is assuming the role of Chairman.
Day, who joined Apperian as CFO in May 2011 and was promoted to President in 2014, spearheaded critical partnerships and has been instrumental in establishing the company’s enterprise customer relationships. In his new role, he will work closely with the senior team to execute its business strategy.
“The industry is quickly shifting from device-centric mobility management to a focus on protecting and managing at the app-level, “said Brian Day, President and CEO of Apperian. “I’m honored to lead Apperian to success as the market continues to move toward our vision for mobile application management.”
Day succeeds David Patrick, who served as CEO for more than four years. Patrick will remain active with Apperian and focus primarily on guiding the management team, offering strategic counsel while continuing to serve in advisory roles to other organizations.
Globo
Globo Plc opened its new office in Palo Alto, CA. This comes soon after Globo’s CEO, Costis Papadimitrakopoulos moved to the Bay Area to provide strategic focus to U.S. and Canadian businesses.
Dimitris Protogirou, Globo’s COO of North America, noted that the new location was strategically chosen to help the company recruit and retain the best talent and serve its growing North American customer base. “The recent acquisition of Sourcebits, following our purchase last year of Notify Technology, means we are rapidly building momentum in the U.S. and Canada,” said Protogirou. “The new Palo Alto center is further evidence of our commitment to the continued expansion of our North American operations.”
AppGyver
AppGyver acquired AppArchitect, a drag-and-drop platform for creating mobile apps.
Alongside the acquisition, AppGyver released an early preview of the upcoming AppArchitect 2.0—which will bring support for Android and a host of new features suggested by the AppArchitect community.
“By joining forces with AppGyver, we’re aiming to innovate faster, offer a more comprehensive solution and deliver world-class customer support,” says Ilya Zatulovskiy, AppArchitect co-founder and CEO, who also joins AppGyver as an advisor.
Mendix
Mendix and Blue Box are partnering to provide enterprises with next-generation hybrid cloud platforms powered by Cloud Foundry and OpenStack.
By combining Mendix’s app development capabilities with its fully managed OpenStack deployments, Blue Box will provide businesses with a path to build, deploy and run cloud-native, multi-channel business applications via its private cloud as a service, Blue Box Cloud.
AppNeta
AppNeta appointed Larry Whitman as CFO. Whitman brings over 20 years’ experience in senior finance and operations roles with both start-ups and established technology companies.
Prior to joining AppNeta, Whitman served as CFO at Highroads, Inc., where he spearheaded efforts that fueled a financial and operational turnaround and expansion. From 2003 to 2008, he served as CFO at Colubris Networks where he drove expansion and established the U.S.-based financial and administrative infrastructure. Previously, he spent more than 12 years in financial management executive roles with companies in the telecommunications and networking industries—including eight years as VP of finance and corporate controller with Shiva Corporation, where he was a key participant in the IPO process and which was sold to Intel in 1999.
“Larry has a wealth of experience driving revenue and expansion and a proven record of achieving profitability for companies in diverse technology sectors,” said Matt Stevens, CEO and president at AppNeta. “His deep financial and operations skill set will be instrumental through our next stage of growth and cementing our position as the full-stack application performance management technology leader.”
Blue Coat Systems
Blue Coat Systems, Inc. appointed Michael Fey as president and COO—reporting directly to CEO Greg Clark. He will be responsible for aligning the company’s web security, encryption management, cloud offerings and advanced threat protection solutions with customer requirements. He will also be leading field and customer-facing business operations and collaborating on strategy.
Fey has more than 10 years of field, marketing and operational experience in security. Prior to joining Blue Coat, Fey was EVP and general manager of corporate products at McAfee and CTO of Intel Security, where he drove that company’s long-term strategic vision and innovation in the network, endpoint and analytics security segments by focusing on high-growth market opportunities and field execution.
Fey assumes his new role from David Murphy, who will continue as a strategic advisor to Clark and the Board of Directors. Murphy joined Blue Coat following the privatization of the company and was instrumental in developing its focused security and acquisition strategy to drive success in the market.
