Article content

SAN FRANCISCO — Google has bought Divide, a startup that helps companies manage the mobile devices that employees are increasingly relying upon to get their work done.

Financial terms of the acquisition announced Monday were not disclosed. The deal is part of Google’s effort to widen corporate usage of smartphones and tablets running on its mobile operating system, Android.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Google Inc acquires Divide in bid to expand enterprise use of Android devices Back to video

As more corporate computing is done on the road, Google is looking for ways to broaden the appeal of its software to the business market, where it competes with Apple Inc., Microsoft Corp. and BlackBerry Ltd. Google is counting on Divide’s technology to make companies feel more comfortable about allowing their employees to use Android devices for business email and other on-the-job tasks involving sensitive information.

More than 1 billion devices worldwide already are powered by Android, making it the world’s leading mobile operating system. Divide also offers an app for Apple Inc.’s iPhones. Although Divide is joining Android, the company reassured existing iPhone customers that their device-management tools will continue to work.