MobileSpaces Raises $3MM Series A From Accel Partners to Tackle Growing Mobile BYOD "Bring Your Own Device" Security Challenges for Enterprises

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Enterprise Mobile security startup MobileSpaces announced today the close of a $3MM Series A investment led by Accel Partners.

MobileSpaces offers a security and management solution that protects corporate apps and data on personal mobile devices, helping enterprises address the mobile BYOD "Bring Your Own Device" trend.  Research shows that over 40% of mobile devices in the enterprise today are personally owned.  This BYOD trend is accelerating and will greatly increase enterprise mobile adoption.  BYOD, which mixes work and life on the same smart device, creates a new set of challenges for the Enterprise. 

"Mobile devices are coming to market at such a rate that IT is having difficulty keeping up. ­ 78% of US companies allow employees to connect personal devices to enterprise data," says Chris Hazelton, Research Director, Mobile and Wireless at 451 Research. "The next wave of disruption is coming from mobile apps, so instead of dealing with a couple of different device OSes, IT will need to potentially manage hundreds of different applications. This is why IT is searching for ways to manage mobility at the app layer."

MobileSpaces was co-founded by CEO David Goldschlag, former VP of Mobile at McAfee, as well as CTO Yoav Weiss, an accomplished security veteran.  David Goldschlag, CEO of MobileSpaces, comments that "The mobile world is shifting from closed, email-centric devices that are owned by the enterprise, to open, app-centric devices that are selected by the user. MobileSpaces makes it easy for enterprises to govern their apps and data while respecting the privacy of the employee."

Analysts estimate that over 450M smartphones and tablets were shipped in 2011, and this will trend to 1B new devices sold in 2015, as smart devices replace feature phones and tablets complement laptops.  Analysts estimate that there will be 300M enterprise smartphone users in enterprises worldwide in 2012, and that the enterprise smart device market will grow to 1B users over the next few years, mobilizing a wide variety of enterprise applications.

As part of the financing, Rich Wong, a Partner at Accel Partners, will join the MobileSpaces board. Rich has worked with and led investments in mobile and software companies such as Angry Birds (Rovio), mobile advertising company, AdMob, mobile enterprise platform, 3LM, and Atlassian Software. In addition, Accel has a long history of investing in leading security companies such as Imperva (IMPV), Lookout, and Brightmail. "MobileSpaces is part of a new wave of enterprise security companies that are solving this crucial BYOD pain point," said Rich Wong, Partner at Accel Partners.  "The convergence of mobile and enterprise and apps is one of the most powerful trends in the technology world today, and we look forward to working with MobileSpaces to capture this opportunity."

MobileSpaces recognizes that enterprises want to manage their mobile apps and data, not their employees' devices. In response, MobileSpaces offers a BYOD policy-managed workspace. Within the workspace, enterprise apps run natively and share information, while ensuring that enterprise data is secured and isolated. This approach offers safe harbor for an employees' personal data, allowing personal apps to run separately and privately from the enterprise apps. By targeting apps, MobileSpaces moves beyond MDM to app centric security and management.  For more information, please visit MobileSpaces.com.  

About MobileSpaces

MobileSpaces helps enterprises mobilize their applications, govern their data, and respect the privacy of their employees.  MobileSpaces offers a BYOD policy-managed workspace that protects mobile enterprise apps and data against loss and leakage.  Founded in 2011 (as CellSec) by experienced enterprise security executives and engineers from McAfee and Check Point, MobileSpaces is headquartered outside of Washington, DC, with offices near Tel-Aviv, Israel, with investment led by Accel Partners.  Learn more at MobileSpaces.com.

About Accel Partners

Founded in 1983, Accel Partners has a long history of partnering with outstanding entrepreneurs and management teams to build world-class businesses. Accel invests globally using dedicated teams and market-specific strategies for local geographies, with offices in Palo Alto, New York City, London and Bangalore; as well as in China via its partnership with IDG-Accel. Accel has helped entrepreneurs build over 300 successful companies, many of which have defined their categories, including 99designs, Actuate, AdMob, Agile Software, Alfresco, Angry Birds (Rovio), Atlassian, BBN, Bonobos, Braintree, Brightcove, Cloudera, ComScore, Diapers.com (Quidsi), Dropbox, Etsy, Exclusively.in, Facebook, Flipkart, Fusion-IO, Gameforge, GlamMedia, Groupon, Imperva, Infinera, Interwoven, IronPlanet, JBoss, Kayak, Lookout, Macromedia, metroPCS, MoPub, Myntra, OPOWER, Polycom/PictureTel, Playfish, Portal Software, QlikTech, Rapt, Real Networks, Redback, Responsys, Riverbed, Spotify, Squarespace, Sunrun, Trulia, UUNet, Veritas, Walmart.com, Webroot, Wonga, XenSource and Zimbra. For more information, please visit the Accel Partners web site at www.accel.com find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/accel

SOURCE Accel Partners