Microsoft has acquired Datazen Software, a Toronto-based company that has released business intelligence apps for Windows 8.1, Windows Phone, iOS and Android devices. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
This deal could be important for Microsoft as it tries to expand its current "mobile first, cloud first" strategy to the business and enterprise world. The company stated:
"Datazen technology and solutions will complement Power BI, our cloud-based business analytics service, rounding out our mobile capabilities for customers who need a mobile BI solution implemented on-premises and optimized for SQL Server. Over time, we plan to integrate Datazen technology with Power BI to give our customers another hybrid bridge for their on-premises investment to the cloud."
In their own post on their acquisition, Datazen CEO Miljan Braticevic said:
" Datazen is positioned as a mobile BI solution for customers who need a solution that is implemented on-premises. As such, it will complement Power BI, Microsoft's cloud-based business analytics service. Our team will continue to develop and evolve the product. We have an exciting roadmap and are really looking forward to bringing new features to market. We'll share more information on how these products will be integrated into Microsoft's offerings at a later date."
There's no word yet on if Datazen plans to shut down its iOS or Android apps now that it has been acquired by Microsoft, but that seems unlikely since Microsoft has been quite busy launching apps like Office and Outlook, among others, for both platforms. Recently, Microsoft signed a deal with Samsung to have a number of Microsoft apps pre-loaded on the Galaxy S6 and S6 edge smartphones.
Source: Microsoft, Datazen
