Goldman Sachs spins out internal technology in Synchronoss deal

[NEW YORK] Goldman Sachs Group Inc is selling Synchronoss Technologies Inc software the bank developed for its employees to access and share sensitive information on mobile devices.

Synchronoss will build upon the technology and its own WorkSpace content management system to offer a product to other companies, according to a statement Tuesday from Bridgewater, New Jersey-based Synchronoss. Goldman Sachs will retain a stake and be a customer. Terms of the deal weren't announced.

Under chief information officer Marty Chavez, Goldman Sachs has developed internal systems for its employees and then spun them out for broader use and potential revenue. Last year, the bank and other financial firms bought startup Perzo and Goldman Sachs contributed technology from its internal messaging system to create Symphony Communications LLC.

In Tuesday's deal, Goldman Sachs contributed intellectual property behind its Lagoon mobile application management framework and Orbit, a set of programs such as e-mail and an Internet browser built on top of Lagoon. About 12,000 Goldman Sachs employees use the technology, said Tiffany Galvin, a Goldman Sachs spokeswoman in New York.

"Providing our clients and employees with secure access to data and applications, any time, any place, on the device of their choosing, is the basis of our mobile strategy," Don Duet, global co-head of the bank's technology division, said in the statement.

Symphony's system will compete with Bloomberg LP, the parent of Bloomberg News, which has its own electronic messaging for financial firms.

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