First , PerformancePoint Server 2007's features will in future be available via client access licenses of the enterprise version of SharePoint Server, said Kurt DelBene, senior vice-president of Business Group, in a statement on the company's Web site.

PerformancePoint helps managers budget, forecast, and measure profits and efficiency. It competed with software from , Infor, Oracle Corp., SAP AG and , as well as offerings from business intelligence (BI) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) vendors.

The market for BPM software and services is expected to grow an average of 13% per year until 2012, to US$3.24 billion, according to Forrester Research Inc.

Microsoft does not have a history of cutting and running on new products. Rather, it is known for doggedly releasing new, refined versions until the software gains market traction.

Business Intelligence product manager Kristina Kerr Microsoft's closure of PerformancePoint was unrelated to the layoffs it made last week, as it began reviewing the software's performance seven months ago.