Microsoft has agreed to acquire NCompass Labs, which makes software
for creating and managing Web content, in a move designed to
further the software giant's .Net Internet initiative.
Explaining the acquisition, Microsoft said its business customers
increasingly use Web sites for communicating information to
customers, partners and employees, and need better software for
managing content at those sites.
NCompass' flagship product, NCompass Resolution 4.0, will be
rebranded by Microsoft as the Microsoft Content Management Server
2001, which will be released in the late third quarter or early
fourth quarter of this year, Microsoft said in a statement.
Customers who buy the product in the interim will continue to get
support and products upgrades from Microsoft, the company
confirmed.
NCompass Resolution includes tools for creating and managing
content, including revision tracking, spell-checking, approval
control, publication scheduling and archiving. The software can
also be used to create templates that make it easier to build sites
with a consistent look and feel. It can also be used to deliver
content in foreign languages or tailored for wireless devices by
using a browser-recognition feature, Microsoft said.
The tools become the latest addition to Microsoft's .Net
initiative, the company said. With .Net, Microsoft is trying to
shift its focus from providing packaged software products to
providing products, services and tools that let other companies
offer services over the Internet.
Microsoft said it will integrate NCompass Resolution with its .Net
server products. The software complements products like Microsoft's
BizTalk Server 2000 and SharePoint Portal Server by providing
businesses with software they need to extend their operations to
the Internet, Microsoft said.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Visit Microsoft at
http://www.microsoft.com
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