Publicly traded developer tools maker JFrog Ltd. has acquired Upswift Ltd., a startup with a platform that helps enterprises roll out software updates to their “internet of things” device fleets.

JFrog didn’t disclose financial terms in its announcement of the deal today. The acquisition comes three months after the company inked a $300 million agreement to buy another startup, Vdoo Connected Trust Ltd., that also provides software for the IoT market.

Commenting on the acquisition of Upswift, JFrog co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Shlomi Ben Haim (pictured) said that “this is another big leap towards our Liquid Software vision of becoming the company that powers the world’s software updates, amplifying our product roadmap and opening new market opportunities.”

JFrog offers tools that help developers roll out updates to their companies’ applications more easily by simplifying key parts of the workflow. JFrog’s customers, which include most of the Fortune 100, mainly use its tools in their  cloud deployments and on-premises data centers. With the acquisition of Upswift, JFrog can extend its update management capabilities beyond cloud deployments and data centers to IoT devices. 

At the center of the acquisition is an approach to releasing software updates known as CI/CD, or continuous integration and continuous delivery. A large and growing number of enterprises are using the approach in their application projects. 

CI/CD automates many time-consuming aspects of the update release process that historically were done manually. It allows software developers to scan the code they’re about to release to production for bugs, identify potential cybersecurity issues and manage related deployment tasks with minimal manual input.

There are several benefits for enterprises. First, resources that software teams previously had to invest in tasks such as scanning code for bugs can be redirected toward building new application features. Moreover, by automating parts of the workflow that had to be done manually, the risk of human error can be reduced and software operations become more consistent.  

JFrog says it’s buying Upswift because companies apply CI/CD mainly to their cloud and on-premises applications, but not to their IoT devices. The same is true for many of the other technologies and practices that together with CI/CD are collectively referred to as DevOps. With Upswift’s technology, JFrog says, it will enable companies to bring the cost and productivity benefits of DevOps to their IoT device fleets.

Upswift provides a platform that enables companies to manage IoT updates using the same DevOps workflows with which they update their cloud and on-premises applications. As a result, IoT development teams can automate tasks such as checking updates for bugs before release. 

Upswift also provides a capability that enable engineers to easily undo changes if a faulty update causes a malfunction in an IoT device. The ability to reverse errors is a useful feature in every software project.

However, it’s particularly valuable in IoT initiatives because connected devices such sensors often have limited internet connectivity. The lack of reliable connectivity creates a risk of update rollouts being interrupted by a network outage, which can create errors on IoT devices unless there’s a mechanism for undoing changes.

JFrog plans to fold Upswift’s technology into its existing DevOps product portfolio. The plan, the company says, is to provide enterprises with a single set of tools for managing updates to their cloud applications, on-premises workloads and IoT devices.

Alongside Upswift’s IoT update management features, the deal also buys JFrog tools for streamlining other connected device administration tasks. Upswift has built capabilities into its platform that allow administrators to monitor their connected devices for technical issues and track what data they process. The startup’s technology also makes it possible to log into a system remotely to perform troubleshooting tasks.

The deal will enable JFrog more directly to address a large and growing market: International Data Corp. estimates that there will be more than 55 billion IoT devices worldwide by 2025, and more than 75% will be connected to an IoT platform.  

Photo: SiliconANGLE