Aussie company plans more software sales to Redmond

Microsoft this week announced it acquired PA's Business Cubes for Excel product, which will be included in the forthcoming release 8.0 of its Great Plains suite.

PA founder and joint managing director Derek Rippingale could not disclose the value of the sale, he told ZDNet Australia  "this would be our biggest deal so far."

It is also the fourth time the 200-strong privately-held company has sold software to Microsoft, with previous sales also finding becoming modules of the Great Plains suite under conventional sale or OEM agreements.

And while the company's core business remains implementing financial management applications for the mid-market, Rippingale insists it will not be the last.

"This is our cream, not our bread and butter," he said. "We never assume that a product we developed will be acquired. Anything we invest in always has to stand up as a commercial product in its own right.

"But the team developed this product is a creative team," he added, and is already working on a new product dubbed "Project Tijuana".

"I'm very happy," Rippingale concluded. "A sale like this is very nice recognition for an Australian company".