IBM Corp. recently announced they will acquire the mobile application and infrastructure software developer Worklight.

Worklight is a privately held firm with a research & development hub in in the tech hotbed of Israel. Worklight’s software works well in multiple verticals such as financial services, retail and healthcare. The company has won some big customers for their products including FIS Software, Best Western and AT&T.

In essence, Worklight’s software enables enterprises to create their own apps which are compatible with different mobile platforms, including Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android 4.0, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7.5 . Worklight also offers HTML 5 development tools as well as mobile middleware and security technologies and management tools.

As we recently reported, smartphone and tablet adoption continues to increase pushing demand for enterprise mobile applications along the way. 

According to a recent study conducted by IBM, more than 75% of global CIOs identified spending on mobility solutions as one of their top priorities. The worklight acquisition will be a key factor in expanding IBM’s mobile services offerings to address this trend.

Worklight software also facilitates secure linking of an enterprise’s IT system with its different end users who are increasingly using their personal mobile devices in the workplace.

A rapid increase in the mobile workforce, which is expected to reach 1.19 billion mobile devices by 2013, has pushed CIOs to look for efficient ways to integrate these personal devices within an organizations existing IT infrastructure.

Mobile device security will become an increasing issue since personal devices will come with personal data and preferences, both of which are always of concern for enterprise IT managers.

IBM has recently launched new software known as Endpoint Manager for Mobile Devices that helps enterprises to better manage and secure their mobile workforce. The software extends security intelligence to deal with the growing threats from mainstream adoption of personal mobile devices. Worklight should complement the Endpoint Manager solution nicely.