News briefs: Microsoft purchases BI tool maker

10.04.2006
Microsoft purchases BI tool maker

Microsoft Corp. has agreed to acquire ProClarity Corp., a maker of business analysis and visualization software for culling information from Microsoft SQL Server and exposing it to business users. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Microsoft plans to use the tools from the privately held company with its SQL Server 2005, Office Business Scorecard Manager 2005, Office Excel and Office SharePoint Portal Server products.

Sun updates its analytics software

Sun Microsystems Inc. has rolled out an upgraded version of its business analytics software for storage. Version 5.0 of Sun's StorageTek Business Analytics system is based on technology gained last year from the company's US$4.1 billion acquisition of Storage Technology Corp. StorageTek had acquired the software in 2004 with its purchase of Storability Software. Version 5.0 adds network-attached storage reporting capabilities and reporting functionality to identify and repair remote storage.

Compuware agrees to buy Irish vendor

Compuware Corp. has agreed to acquire privately held SteelTrace for approximately $20 million in cash. SteelTrace, a Dublin-based maker of business requirements management tools, is a Compuware partner. Its tools are already integrated in Compuware development and quality assurance products, Compuware officials said.