Google to buy IoT company Xively, which lets firms manage devices remotely, from LogMeIn for $50M; 45 Xively staffers go to Google, LogMeIn exits IoT space
Google said Xivley will complement its Google Cloud objectives with analytics and data storage as the cornerstones.
Context & Ripple Effects
Google has been assembling a managed IoT stack piece by piece: it launched Google Cloud IoT Core as a managed service for device deployments in May 2017, but that service lacked the mature device-management layer enterprises use to monitor and update fleets of connected hardware at scale.
Xively supplies exactly that layer, plus the analytics and data-storage hooks Google says will anchor its Cloud objectives. The deal also fits a recognizable acquisition cadence for Google Cloud — the Orbitera purchase added cloud software commerce, and later tuck-ins like Velostrata for cloud migration continued the same build-out.
First-order effects
- Forty-five Xively engineers join Google, giving Cloud IoT Core an enterprise-grade remote device-management capability it did not have in-house.
- LogMeIn exits the IoT business entirely, leaving its Xively customers facing a platform transition under new ownership.
Second-order effects
- Google Cloud can now bundle device management with its analytics and storage services into a single enterprise pitch, raising the bar for rival cloud providers' IoT offerings.
- LogMeIn's departure thins the field of independent IoT platforms, pushing mid-market buyers toward hyperscaler-managed alternatives.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds — small capability acquisitions layered onto a managed core — cloud providers consolidate the IoT middleware market, shifting value from standalone device-management vendors to whoever owns the underlying compute and data stack.
The trend: Hyperscalers are buying their way down the IoT stack, absorbing independent device-management platforms into managed cloud services.