Microsoft snaps up mobile-analytics firm Datazen

Acquisition will bolster Microsoft's business intelligence strategy, it claims

Microsoft has announced it has acquired business intelligence (BI) player Datazen Software, in a move it claims will bolster its BI offering.

The newly acquired company - founded in 2002 and headquartered in Ontario, Canada - specialises in helping companies analyse data on mobile devices and provides data visualisation on Windows, iOS and Android devices.

In a blog post on Tuesday, Kamal Hathi, partner director of cloud and enterprise at Microsoft, said Datazen is a company that is leading the way in BI for mobile.

"This acquisition accelerates our Power BI strategy to help organisations create a data culture with easy-to-use, accessible tools to extract maximum value from data - from anywhere, on any device," he said.

"With the pervasive use of mobile devices at work, mobile business intelligence (BI) is at a tipping point. Datazen is a mobile-first company at the forefront of this wave, with enterprise customers around the globe using its technology."

According to a Datazen blog post, following the acquisition, the complete range of its products will still be available in their current form to its customers and partners.

Microsoft said that starting today, all SQL Server Enterprise Edition customers with version 2008 or later and Software Assurance will be able to download the Datazen Server software for free.

"This means millions of people around the world will now be able to visualise and interact with data on their mobile devices, using the native mobile apps available at no charge at the respective app stores," the post said.

Microsoft said it intends to integrate Datazen technology with its Power BI - a cloud-based BI service for Excel and Office 365 - to give its customers "another hybrid bridge for their on-premises investment to the cloud".