Thursday, August 4, 2011

Microsoft Acquires ERM Partner Prodiance

News

Microsoft Acquires ERM Partner Prodiance

On Monday Microsoft announced it had acquired Prodiance Corp., a Microsoft Certified Partner that specializes in enterprise risk management software, which integrates with Office and SharePoint.


On Monday Microsoft announced it had acquired Prodiance Corp., a Microsoft Certified Partner that specializes in enterprise risk management software, which integrates with Office and SharePoint.

The company's Enterprise Risk Manager product line works with Excel. The ERM solutions are designed to help organizations with compliance issues, inventory, discovery, risk analysis, management and remediation.

Under the terms of the deal, Prodiance remains in Pleasanton, Calif. and becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft. Microsoft is currently working with Prodiance management "to bring a number of Prodiance employees to Microsoft," according to Microsoft's FAQ. The companies aren't disclosing the financial details.


Microsoft intends to integrate some of Prodiance's technologies into future Microsoft Office and SharePoint versions, according to Microsoft's announcement. The integration" will add "increased security and control over critical business information in spreadsheets." It will enable auditing and policy enforcement via "continuous monitoring of documents." It's also expected to enable "automated risk assessment."

Microsoft plans to disclose further details about its product integration at a future date. Existing Prodiance customers, as of June 6, can buy more Prodiance licenses. In addition, Prodiance support policies for current customers will continue through their expiration periods. Customers wanting to purchase Prodiance solutions today should wait for Microsoft to disclose pricing and licensing details to be offered with the Office product line at a later unspecified date, according to the FAQ.

A "Microsoft Pathways" page here lists additional transition details associated with the acquisition.