Zenprise raises $9M to manage company smartphones
Summary
Zenprise, a company offering tools for IT departments to manage their team’s smartphones, has raised $9 million in new funding. The use of consumer-friendly smartphones in large companies has surged in the past year or so, especially with the addition of business and security features to the iPhone, said chief executive Jayaram Bhat (pictured). Venture capitalists are looking to jump on this trend too, Bhat said, which is why they are approached Zenprise, even though the company wasn’t planning to raise more money at the time. Zenprise faces competition on two fronts — from existing systems management tools like IBM Tivoli and HP OpenView, which are expanding into smartphones, and from new startups focused in this area. The theme: “The year of the superphone and who will profit.” Now expanded to two days, MobileBeat 2010 will take place on July 12-13 at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco.