By Harro Ten Wolde and Euan Rocha
BARCELONA/TORONTO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - BlackBerry BBRY.O
BB.TO said on Wednesday that it has acquired U.K.-based cyber
security consultancy Encription, moving the company deeper into
the services business as it continues to morph into a more
software-focused entity amid its ongoing turnaround.
The smartphone industry pioneer, which is pivoting to focus
more on security software and services as the popularity of its
devices have waned, said it sees massive potential in the area,
with cyber security consulting currently worth an estimated
$16.5 billion a year globally.
The terms of the Encription deal, which closed Friday, were
not disclosed.
The acquisition will bring a team of about 40 cyber security
professionals, who have helped test network vulnerabilities for
both government agencies and large corporate entities, into the
BlackBerry fold.
"This is a natural extension of what we do right now," said
James Mackey, BlackBerry's head of corporate development. "We're
very excited about this new offering and we think it is highly
complementary and a nice addition to our security portfolio."
The acquisition will give BlackBerry the opportunity to also
cross-sell some of its own security products, said Mackey.
BlackBerry said the new consulting services and tools, along
with its existing security offerings, will help its clients to
identify the latest cyber security threats, develop mitigation
strategies, and implement the necessary IT security standards to
defend against cyber attacks.
The acquisition of Encription is the latest in a string of
software and services focused acquisitions made by BlackBerry in
the last year.
In September, the company agreed to acquire rival security
software maker Good Technology for $425 million. That deal came
soon after its acquisition of privately-held AtHoc, a provider
of secure, networked crisis communications.
BlackBerry is attempting to boost revenue from software and
services to offset the revenue declines from its smartphone unit
and legacy system access fees.