Microsoft (MSFT) Acquires Mobile Analytics Firm Datazen

Microsoft Corp. MSFT has acquired Datazen Software, a mobile business intelligence (BI) and data visualization service.

Datazen

Established in 2002 and headquartered in Canada, Datazen, focuses on helping organizations deliver data analytics that are perfectly rendered in Excel format on mobile devices of any shape and form running on Windows, Apple’s iOS AAPL and Google’s GOOGL Android devices.

Reasons for the Acquisition

Ever since Satya Nadella took charge of Microsoft, it has been pursuing the mobile first/cloud first strategy. The company recognizes the value of helping its clientele access business analytics via mobile devices.

With Power BI, Microsoft already has big data analytics and business intelligence tools. Microsoft Power BI provides the power of big data analytics and business intelligence via the popular Microsoft Excel. Eventually, it helps average users dig into important business information without any complications.

The move will let Microsoft deliver Power BI across mobile devices (iOS and Android also) while raising the bar and providing greater value.

In a blog post that announced the acquisition, Kamal Hathi, Partner Director, Cloud + Enterprise for Microsoft said "In particular, SQL Server customers love Datazen, because it is optimized for SQL Server Analysis Services and the overall Microsoft platform, enabling rich, interactive data visualization and KPIs on all major mobile platforms: Windows, iOS, and Android."

Looking Ahead

The Datazen server is now available free of cost for Software Assurance customers who use SQL Server Enterprise Edition version 2008 or later. These customers can immediately take advantage of mobile business intelligence via the Datazen apps for different mobile platforms.

According to Microsoft, Datazen is meant to complement Power BI rather than replace it. Per Hathi, “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."

Microsoft carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors can also consider PetMed Express Inc PETS as it holds a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

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