AppSense Launches Cloud R&D Lab to Bridge Consumer, Business

Virtualization specialist AppSense announced the launch of an R&D lab designed to bridge the divide between the enterprise and consumer clouds. AppSense Labs solutions don’t even necessarily have to do with the company’s market strategy, as the lab has a mandate simply to produce useful cloud tools. The Labs’ first free product is DataLocker, a solution that enables for the encryption of files in Dropbox cloud storage.

AppSense VP of Research and Development Keith Turnbull said in a prepared statement it’s all a part of the company’s plan to push the entire industry forward:

“Some of the world’s largest and most influential companies place AppSense products at the center of their mission-critical IT infrastructure, and we will continue to evolve our enterprise products with the same focus and rigor we are known for. At the same time, it is essential that we aggressively push the boundaries between professional and personal computing. AppSense Labs is the perfect vehicle for this.”

The AppSense Labs researchers will report to AppSense CTO Harry Labana and help define the company’s overall technology strategy, and pieces may find their way into AppSense’s enterprise offerings. But the real mandate here, according to the press release, is to “freely experiment in new technology areas and make useful innovations available directly to technology enthusiasts.”

The DataLocker solution I mentioned is a free tool, with Apple iOS, Apple OS X and Windows clients available, that can bring encryption to important files without having to give up anywhere, anytime access. Of course, vendors such as Trend Micro SafeSync bring that kind of security to a similar offering, but I do see the potential value in being able to apply it to a more consumer-focused offering. Kind of like bring-your-own-device, but for existing cloud service accounts.

AppSense made headlines last year when Goldman Sachs invested $70 million. Apparently, AppSense is using that money and spending it on furthering the flexibility of the cloud.