Avocent Acquires Sonic Mobility for Secure Wireless Systems Administration

Avocent Expands Mobile Management Capabilities with Sonic Mobility

In a strategic move aimed at broadening its foothold in the fast‑moving mobile IT landscape, Avocent Corporation announced the acquisition of Calgary‑based Sonic Mobility. The deal, valued at a total cash payment of eight million dollars, also involved the assumption of certain liabilities and the settlement of transaction costs. For Avocent, which has long dominated fixed‑asset management with solutions like DSView and DSAdmin, the purchase signals a decisive step into the realm of secure wireless systems administration and mobile device management (MDM).

“Sonic Mobility brings a powerful suite of software that enables secure management of mobile devices across platforms such as BlackBerry, Pocket PC, and Palm,” said John R. Cooper, Avocent’s president and chief executive officer. “By integrating Sonic Mobility’s products, we’ll be able to serve a broader market that includes not only traditional IT assets but also the rapidly expanding mobile asset portfolio.” The statement underscores Avocent’s intent to leverage Sonic Mobility’s expertise to deliver a more unified management experience for enterprises that rely on both desktop and mobile infrastructure.

The acquisition’s financial terms appear straightforward: Avocent paid $8 million in cash, absorbed select liabilities, and covered transaction expenses. While the immediate financial impact on the company’s earnings for the third quarter is expected to be negligible - aside from a possible charge related to acquired in‑process research and development - the move is positioned as a long‑term growth catalyst. By incorporating Sonic Mobility’s technology, Avocent anticipates enhanced revenue streams from new product lines and expanded customer adoption.

Beyond the headline figures, the acquisition’s value lies in the strategic relationships that Sonic Mobility has cultivated. The company partners with industry leaders such as Palm, Microsoft, Research In Motion (RIM), NetIQ, and RSA. These alliances give Avocent access to a broader ecosystem of devices and security solutions, enabling tighter integration between mobile endpoints and enterprise networks. Additionally, Sonic Mobility’s existing customer base - encompassing 300 organizations across 14 countries, including Lockheed Martin, FedEx, Principal Financial, the U.S. State Department, and the Department of Justice - provides Avocent with immediate entry into high‑profile, security‑centric markets.

The integration process is already underway. Avocent’s leadership announced that Derek Ball, Sonic Mobility’s former CEO, will join the company as Director of Business Development for Mobile Solutions. Ball’s experience will be critical in translating Sonic Mobility’s technology into commercial offerings that align with Avocent’s broader portfolio. Day‑to‑day development work will be handled by Sonic Mobility’s VP of Engineering, Dayton Foster, and the remaining software team, ensuring that the core expertise remains intact during the transition.

Avocent also announced a compensation plan to align the interests of the newly integrated team with the company’s long‑term goals. Ten former Sonic Mobility employees who will become non‑executive officers at Avocent are slated to receive a total of forty thousand stock option grants. These options will be priced at the current share price, vesting over four years under terms similar to Avocent’s 2003 Stock Option Plan. The grant structure reflects Avocent’s confidence that the talent brought in through this acquisition will help drive future growth.

With the acquisition complete, Avocent’s executive team is already mapping out how Sonic Mobility’s products will fit into its existing product line. The combination of sonicadmin with DSView and DSAdmin is expected to extend management capabilities to mobile devices, giving IT administrators a single console to oversee both desktop and handheld assets. In addition, the ongoing development of sonicsentry - a solution for remote control and administration of PDAs and smartphones - positions Avocent to tap into the growing demand for secure mobile access in field‑based operations. The company’s leadership is optimistic that these offerings will open new revenue streams, particularly in sectors where data protection and device security are paramount.

Overall, Avocent’s acquisition of Sonic Mobility is more than a simple expansion of its product catalog. It represents a deliberate pivot toward the evolving needs of enterprises that must manage a growing mix of mobile and fixed assets. By merging Sonic Mobility’s specialized MDM tools with its established management infrastructure, Avocent is poised to deliver a comprehensive solution that addresses the full spectrum of IT asset lifecycle requirements. The move positions the company to capture a larger share of the market for secure wireless systems administration while reinforcing its reputation as a trusted provider of enterprise‑grade IT management solutions.

Product Suite and Strategic Benefits of the Acquisition

Sonic Mobility’s product portfolio is at the heart of the acquisition’s strategic value. The flagship product, sonicadmin, is a real‑time secure proxy that allows administrators to perform routine server management tasks from a mobile device. With sonicadmin, an IT professional can reboot a server, change passwords, restart services, view event logs, move files, and send messages to logged‑in users - all while maintaining the same level of security and control as if they were sitting at the console. Microsoft recognized the power of this approach by licensing sonicadmin to power the Windows 2003 Mobile Admin Pack, a decision that further validates the solution’s robustness and interoperability with enterprise Windows environments.

In addition to sonicadmin, Sonic Mobility offers sonicsecureweb, a security layer that protects intranet and extranet resource access from handheld devices. By encrypting traffic and enforcing authentication policies, sonicsecureweb helps enterprises mitigate the risks associated with mobile connectivity to corporate networks. This product complements the mobile management capabilities of sonicadmin, ensuring that data accessed over wireless links remains protected against eavesdropping and unauthorized intrusion.

sonicsentry stands out as a comprehensive tool for centrally managing mobile devices. It delivers remote control, configuration, and security enforcement across PDAs and smartphones that connect to an organization’s network. Administrators can monitor device status in real time, apply or change passwords on unprotected devices, manage user groups, and, crucially, wipe data from lost or stolen devices. These features are essential for organizations that rely on mobile technology in field operations, where device loss or compromise can have serious operational or security consequences. Planned enhancements - such as over‑the‑air provisioning and configuration - are designed to support carriers that handle large volumes of mobile endpoints, further expanding sonicsentry’s applicability in enterprise deployments.

The integration of Sonic Mobility’s tools into Avocent’s existing offerings creates a seamless management experience. By aligning sonicadmin with DSView and DSAdmin, Avocent will enable IT administrators to monitor and control both fixed servers and mobile endpoints from a single interface. This consolidation reduces the complexity of managing diverse device types, decreases the risk of misconfiguration, and streamlines audit processes. The unified platform also positions Avocent to deliver consistent policy enforcement across the entire IT estate, from on‑premises servers to mobile devices roaming in the field.

Strategically, the acquisition broadens Avocent’s market reach. Prior to the deal, Avocent’s clientele largely consisted of enterprises with extensive desktop and server infrastructures. Sonic Mobility’s existing customer base - including high‑profile agencies such as the U.S. State Department and the Department of Justice - provides Avocent with direct access to sectors where device security and regulatory compliance are top priorities. By offering a suite of mobile management solutions, Avocent can now serve these organizations with a comprehensive, end‑to‑end IT asset management strategy, enhancing customer loyalty and opening pathways for upsell opportunities.

The partnership also benefits from Sonic Mobility’s established relationships with key technology vendors. Collaborations with Palm, Microsoft, RIM, NetIQ, and RSA mean that Avocent’s new product line will be able to integrate natively with popular mobile platforms and security infrastructures. This level of interoperability is critical for enterprises that operate heterogeneous environments and need to ensure that all components - whether mobile, desktop, or network - communicate securely and reliably.

From an operational perspective, the retention of Sonic Mobility’s core engineering team - led by VP of Engineering Dayton Foster - ensures that product development will continue at its current pace. This continuity mitigates the risk of feature gaps or delays that sometimes accompany mergers and acquisitions. Additionally, the stock option grants awarded to former Sonic Mobility executives and engineers align the new team’s incentives with Avocent’s long‑term performance goals, fostering a collaborative culture centered on innovation and customer success.

In summary, the acquisition delivers a powerful, integrated product suite that extends Avocent’s capabilities into the critical domain of mobile device management. By combining sonicadmin, sonicsecureweb, and sonicsentry with its existing management tools, Avocent offers a unified solution that addresses the evolving needs of modern enterprises. The strategic alliances, robust customer base, and strong engineering talent acquired through Sonic Mobility position Avocent to capture a larger share of the secure wireless systems administration market and to deliver value across a broader spectrum of IT assets.