Google has made a move to bulk up its cloud business, by agreeing to buy Internet of Things software provider Xively.

The internet search company is paying $50m (£35m) for Xively, currently a division of Boston-based web conferencing company LogMeIn. It generated $3m revenue in the most recent three month period, and provides software which allows companies to build connectivity directly into products and manage smart devices.

LogMeIn had bought Xively for $12m in 2014.

Google Cloud's Antony Passemard said the purchase will allow the business to "gain deep IoT technology and engineering expertise, including Xively's advanced device management, messaging, and dashboard capabilities".

Xively is the latest in a string of cloud-related purchases by Google over the past year, as the business plays catch up to rivals Amazon and Microsoft. The pair's cloud computing operations, AWS and Azure respectively, are much larger and well-established than Google's.

However, earlier this month Google parent Alphabet revealed figures which suggested its division is the fastest growing cloud business in the market.

In its fourth quarter earnings call, Alphabet disclosed the cloud business was now generating $4bn a year in revenue. It had previously declined to provide figures, and Google Cloud chief executive Diane Greene had said analysts had been "grossly underestimating" the business.

The news of another purchase comes days after Samsung's former chief technology officer Injong Rhee said he was joining Google Cloud to lead its Internet of Things operations.