Microsoft soups up its mobile BI through Datazen Software acquisition

Microsoft has begun to further build out its power business intelligence strategy by acquiring mobile BI and data virtualization specialist Datazen Software.

The mobile data solution creates dashboards for enterprises by using data fed in from Microsoft Excel that can be brought up on Windows, Windows Phone, iOS, and Android devices plus via the web.

"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 optimised 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," said Kamal Hathi, partner director for Cloud and Enterprise at Microsoft, in a statement.

Free for SQL

In order to take advantage of the tools, enterprises must be running Windows Server, IIS and .NET behind their firewalls, as well as Datazen's server software. From there they can begin to draw insights from data on almost any device.

Microsoft will eventually integrate Datazen's technology into Power BI, however, for the moment Datazen's products will remain in the same guise as they are currently. SQL Server Enterprise Edition customers that have version 2008 or later and Software Assurance can download Datazen Server software free of charge right now and start to draw insights from their data right away.

• Check it out: Business Intelligence for the masses: a new way of making decisions