InMobi announced the acquisition of Sprout, whose HTML5 rich media creative platform helps agencies and brands reduce the complexity of rich media mobile ad creation and distribution. InMobi’s global presence, combined with Sprout’s rich media technology, will help the mobile advertising industry easily build and distribute engaging rich media ads to consumers everywhere.

Ad creation is of particular interest by HTML5 developers, as it provides a universal language that crosses platform and device barriers to monetize the growth of mobile ads.  It’s also been a shift away from Flash, which dominated interactive ad formats in the PC world, giving Sprout a big nod for its foresight in the HTML5 space.

Sprout is known for simplifying the complex process of HTML5 with their ‘build once, deliver everywhere’ vision.  Sprout’s cloud-based platform brings efficiency and scale to organizations creating mobile ads and its rich media creatives are compatible with mobile devices supporting HTML5, including Apple iOS and Google Android devices. Sprout already works with some leading brands, including Chevrolet, Disney, Paramount Pictures, HTC, Sega and Nokia.

Naveen Tewari, CEO of InMobi, comments: “Sprout’s technology solves a critical need for the industry by helping bring engaging mobile ad experiences to consumers all around the globe.  The acquisition fits perfectly with our vision to enable the mobile ecosystem with best of breed technology and services. The entire industry will benefit from the combination of our technology and operational footprint on five continents and Sprout’s platform.”

This acquisition is a great timing for InMobi as more companies are moving into innovations based on HTML5.  It’s a particularly important standard for mobile development, acting as a unifying factor across mobile platforms including iOS and Android.  This week alone has seen some developments.  Adobe has just released the preview of Adobe Edge, which works around mobile’s limited Flash capabilities and enables web developers to create designs and animations much like what they are used to doing in HTML, CSS and JavaScript, to keep up with HTML5′s developing standards and growing use cases.  The adoption for Adobe Edge is already running high, with 50k downloads in its first day.  Google overhauled the design and features of its browser-based web apps to leverage HTML5 to present a uniform interface on supported devices, covering both Android and iOS.

As HTML5 is growing bigger by the minute, European Network and Information Security Agency (ENISA) released a 61-page document that analyzes the HTML5, looking particularly at its security.

“I think this is special in that it’s the first time anyone has look at those suites of specifications together from a security point of view.  Everybody is using a browser for everything these days, it’s really crucial.” said Giles Hogben, program manager for secure services at ENISA.

ENISA already found 51 security issues in which some can be fixed by tweaking the specifications, while others are based on the features that users should be alerted to.  One of the features that mostly concerns ENISA, in the paper, is termed “form tampering.”

Much like anything that has gotten this level of attention, detractors and critics will also be on the lookout for shortcomings and downfalls, acting as industry watchdogs for the rest of us.  In this case, ENISA is looking out for the public’s security in using HTML5 especially with hackers lurking in every corner of cyberspace.