Microsoft to Buy Enterprise Chat Provider Parlano

Published: September 5, 2007

by Alex Woodie

Microsoft last week bolstered its Unified Communications strategy with its announced intention to acquire Parlano, a developer of software that brings together group chat, instant messaging (IM), and presence management.

Since its founding in 2000, Parlano has found success selling its product, called MindAlign, to large companies, especially those in the financial services industry. What sets Parlano's communication software apart from others on the market is its capability to maintain its topic-specific and multiparty IM and chat discussions over time. This persistence allows people to maintain an ongoing dialog.

The fact that many of Parlano's customers have implemented MindAlign atop their existing Microsoft Live Communication Server infrastructures further sweetened the deal for Microsoft. The follow-on to Live Communication Server, Office Communication Server 2007, will be launched next month.

Microsoft says it will add Parlano's group chat functionality to Office Communications Server and Office Communicator. Software Assurance customers who buy standard client access licensees (CALs) for Office Communications Server 2007 will get the group chat at no additional charge.

The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2007. Terms of the deal were not revealed.

RELATED STORY

Key Pieces to Unified Communications Available in October