Seems like MS is focussing more and more on BI with buying ProClarity, a company that is into advanced analytics.
[Via MS Presspass]:
“Microsoft Corp. today announced it has agreed to acquire ProClarity Corp., a software company based in Boise, Idaho, that develops advanced analysis and visualization technologies that work in association with Microsoft’s business intelligence (BI) platform, which includes Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005, Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server. The upcoming release of the 2007 Microsoft Office system significantly increases and broadens Microsoft’s investment in BI, and this acquisition deepens that investment, providing functionality that includes additional advanced analysis and visualization technologies as well as business-logic-driven “guided” analysis.
Microsoft’s BI strategy aims to broaden the reach of business intelligence by providing an easy and integrated user experience for accessing and working with business information so that decision-makers at all levels in an organization can make more informed decisions and drive better performance. The goal is to reach every individual, add value to every decision, and help organizations align people and initiatives to business strategy. ProClarity’s technology and people will help accelerate Microsoft’s business intelligence strategy, provide increased BI functionality, increase customer value and enhance opportunities for industry partners to integrate BI into business applications.
“ProClarity has been a valued Microsoft partner for many years, with a strong R&D organization, more than 1,200 mutual customers and a sales force that already works closely with ours,” said Jeff Raikes, president of the Business Division at Microsoft. “This acquisition advances our BI strategy and our ability to deliver performance management applications to customers.”
“Our focus at ProClarity is to give organizations a simple, powerful and adaptable interface to insight, expanding on the power of the Microsoft business intelligence platform. We share Microsoft’s enthusiasm for making BI accessible to all decision-makers within an organization,” said Bob Lokken, CEO of ProClarity. “We look forward to applying our people and our technology to have even greater customer impact as an integrated, strategic asset within Microsoft.”
The acquisition builds on Microsoft’s recent progress expanding its BI offerings, from the fall introductions of SQL Server 2005 and Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005 to the forthcoming BI capabilities within the 2007 Office system releases of Excel and SharePoint.
About ProClarity
Founded in 1995, ProClarity is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner and has been a leading provider of third-party analytics tools based on Microsoft’s BI platform since 1999. ProClarity gives organizations a simple, powerful and adaptable interface to insight, expanding on the power of the Microsoft business intelligence platform. ProClarity’s solution includes ProClarity Analytics Server (PAS), which augments Microsoft SQL Server Analysis Services and works in association with Microsoft Office Business Scorecard Manager, Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server.
Today, more than 1,200 customers use ProClarity solutions with Microsoft’s comprehensive, enterprise-class, business intelligence platform. With this acquisition, ProClarity becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft and will remain located in Idaho, USA.”