Google buys Quickoffice and Meebo
Strengthens mobile apps and cloud offerings with Office compatible file formats and social advertising
Published: 8 June, 2012
READ MORE: M&A | Cloud | Applications | Android
Google has made two acquisitions to boost its mobile applications and cloud offerings, snapping up productivity firm Quickoffice and social network Meebo.
The former purchase comes amid reports that Microsoft is readying a version of Office for the iPad, and brings cloud-based applications, and compatibility with the Windows software, to Google's cloud Drive platform.
Quickoffice says its apps are installed on over 300m iOS and Android mobile devices in 180 countries. It also brings its new owner file translation software to make Microsoft Office files compatible with Google Apps format. Of course, there is now intense speculation that Google will end iOS support and keep all the benefits of Quickoffice's user base for Android.
The search giant's engineering director, Alan Warren, wrote on the corporate blog: "Consumers, businesses and schools use Google Apps to get stuff done from anywhere, with anyone and on any device. Quickoffice has an established track record of enabling seamless interoperability with popular file formats, and we'll be working on bringing their powerful technology to our Apps product suite."
The Quickoffice apps allow users to access files from various cloud storage providers such as Google Docs, Dropbox, Box, SugarSync and Evernote. As with iOS, there will now be speculation that Google will cut off those rival options.
The company has also acquired social messaging and advertising company Meebo, whose company blog post said: "For more than seven years we've been helping publishers find deeper relationships with their users and to make their sites more social and engaging. Together with Google, we're super jazzed to roll up our sleeves and get cracking on even bigger and better ways to help users and website owners alike."
The rumor mill suggested that Google might have paid around $100m for its latest prey, but it only said officially: "We are always looking for better ways to help users share content and connect with others across the web, just as they do in real life. With the Meebo team's expertise in social publisher tools, we believe they will be a great fit with the Google+ team."
More M&A News
More CLOUD News
- Ericsson has disaster recovery for TV - Apr 10
- Amazon Web Services goes mobile - Mar 25
More APPLICATIONS News
- NSN adds Intel to its edge RAN platform - May 24
- Nvidia boosts modem to 150Mbps - May 23
- Qualcomm's Mirasol gets a revival - May 23
COMMENTS
BYOD: Market Analysis and Forecasts
An in-depth insight into the rise of BYOD policies within the enterprise and analysis of the impact the trend will have on IT departments,...
Voice Command, Control and Search on Mobile Phones: Market Analysis & Forecasts
This report provides a comprehensive insight into the growing importance of voice command, control and search on handsets, analysing...
Data Centre Network Equipment: Market Analysis and Forecasts
This report provides a global assessment of the data centre network equipment market. Besides assessing the key market trends, sub-markets...
HetNet Market Summary & Forecasts: Macro Cells, Small Cells & Wi-Fi Offload
Carriers are struggling to cope with the explosion of data traffic on their networks, and the additional deployment of LTE and legacy...
Over-the-Top Communications: Threats & Opportunities for Mobile Operators
This report examines the implications of widespread adoption of mobile over-the-top IP communications for mobile operators, handset...
Portable Gaming Consoles: Market Analysis and Forecasts
This report provides a global assessment of the PGC market. In addition to assessing the key market drivers, market barriers, vendor...
Satellite Phones: Will Dual Mode Help the Phoenix Rise from the Ashes?
Satellite phones have followed an arduous path since their much-hyped launch more than a decade ago. The hype was followed by an e...
