Microsoft acquires Prodiance to integrate risk-management into future Office releases

Microsoft announced on June 7 its acquisition for an undisclosed amount of enterprise risk management (ERM) software vendor Prodiance.

Microsoft bought Prodiance "to bring more compliance functionality within Microsoft Office," according to a frequently asked questions (FAQ) document on Prodiance's site. "Microsoft plans to integrate its technologies into a future version of Office and SharePoint. Roadmap and licensing will be announced later," the statement added.

So far, it's unclear which version of Office will get the technology first. Microsoft is in the midst of developing Office 15, the version of Office expected to come to market by 2013. Microsoft has yet to release a test build of Office 15.

On its own blog, Microsoft officials noted that Prodiance is currently a Microsoft partner and that Prodiance will become a wholly-owned Microsoft subsidiary.

Microsoft said to expect Prodiance's technology to bring to future versions of Office and SharePoint functionality including increased security and control over critical business information in spreadsheets; comprehensive audit trails, providing policy enforcement and continuous document monitoring; and risk mitigation and improved compliance through automated risk assessment.

Prodiance's technology already is used by more than Fortune 2000 companies, according to Microsoft.

During the transition in ownership, existing Prodiance customers will continue to obtain support for their current products from Prodiance. "(E)xisting support agreements will be honored through expiration," Prodiance said on its Web site. "Upon expiration of these contracts, new Microsoft support offerings will be available for purchase (where support is not covered by customers’ existing support contracts with Microsoft) to ensure ongoing support availability of Prodiance technologies."