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Microsoft Acquires Vendor of Office Collaboration Tools

Microsoft has acquired San Francisco-based LiveLoop, a startup that makes collaboration tools aimed at Microsoft Office.

Microsoft confirmed the news to ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley, who first reported on the acquisition on Thursday. Neither of the companies has made an official announcement of the acquisition.

Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. LiveLoop has only indicated on its Web site that it will shut down "permanently" on April 24, warning customers to retrieve data before that date.

LiveLoop was founded by Amal Dorai and David Nelson and was financially backed by venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates and Columbus Nova Technology Partners. At the time of its acquisition, LiveLoop offered a single product, called LiveLoop. It's a PowerPoint add-on designed to make it easier for end users to share and access PowerPoint presentations by sharing URL links to them.

The idea of the LiveLoop product was to avoid situations in which large PowerPoint files were shared via e-mails. The company also claimed that its solution dispensed with the need to download client applications or Web presentation enablement software, such as Cisco's WebEx or Citrix's GoToMeeting. It facilitated the viewing of PowerPoint presentations on smartphones. It also made it easier to share PowerPoint presentations across platforms, such as Macs, according to LiveLoop's Web site.

Microsoft isn't talking about its plans for LiveLoop, but it seems its technology will be used across the Office suite of products, per a Microsoft spokesperson.

"Microsoft is excited to welcome the talented team from LiveLoop to help build great collaboration across Office applications, as part of our strategy and vision to reinvent productivity," the spokesperson indicated.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

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