Apple said Tuesday that it agreed to buy start-up Buddybuild, a move that could improve the workflow for iOS developers — and thus help the company achieve its goal of dramatically boosting its software and services business.
The acquisition was first revealed in a Buddybuild blog post.
Buddybuild integrates with common workplace software like Slack and Trello, making it easier to trigger and communicate code changes across a variety of platforms. The acquisition could be a boon to Apple, which is hoping to double its software and services revenue by 2020. Pacific Crest analyst Andy Hargreaves has said that the App Store may drive that growth.
The acquisition is one of several changes Apple has made to beef up its coding platform, called Xcode. Apple has released a new, easier-to-learn language, Swift; developed a revenue-sharing model for subscription apps, and moved more of its software research out into the open. Apple also acquired Workflow.
When Apple started rolling out these changes over the past two years, developers told CNBC that Apple's development environment had shortfalls, including the inability to easily fix bugs. They also said that the sprint to adapt to Apple's rollout of new iOS systems has made life much harder for start-ups with small staffs.
Vancouver-based Buddybuild could help Apple shake that image by giving developers another tool to deal with bugs.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.