Microsoft Corp. 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.
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.
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