Microsoft acquired parlano, an enterprise group communication software vendor.

Microsoft announced the acquisition of parlano, an enterprise group conversation software provider, to strengthen office Communication Server 2007, which was launched earlier this year. The acquisition plan is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year. The detailed acquisition amount was not disclosed by Microsoft.

In Chicago, parlano has approximately 50 employees and mainly provides the multi-person group online conversation software mindalign. Customers such as Swiss bank UBS, Dutch bank, and Deutsche Federal Bank all use this software as internal group communication tools.

For example, traders around the world can use this tool to discuss the status of securities or funds, and when employees in one place go to work, they can see that employees in another place discussed those things earlier. According to Microsoft, parlano's software is also widely used in the technology industry and Customer Service Center (call center ).

Parlano has begun integrating mindalign and Office Communication Server 2007. Now users can access the Web information presented by the Communication Server to see which discussion groups can join the conversation. This integration will allow Microsoft to more easily integrate mindalign into office communication server and its client software office communicator.

After acquiring parlano, Microsoft will have a more complete real-time integrated communication platform, including using various devices for email transmission, real-time communication, network conferencing, and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol, and can compete with IBM and Cisco.

As for the enterprise real-time communication and network conference software sametime that IBM has developed to version 7.5, it also includes the group conversation and VoIP functions. Recently, IBM further bought webdialogs, The on-demand VoIP vendor. In addition, Cisco reached an agreement with IBM at the beginning of the year to further use the sametime software to provide services to customers.