News

Microsoft Acquires Office Collaboration Tools Maker LiveLoop

• By Kurt Mackie
• 03/31/2015

Microsoft announced that it has bought the San Francisco-based LiveLoop -- maker of Microsoft Office collaboration tools.

No announcement by the companies was made, but veteran Microsoft reporter Mary Jo Foley broke the news on Thursday, getting confirmation by Microsoft. The terms of the deal weren't disclosed. LiveLoop has only indicated on its Web site that it will shut down "permanently" on April 24, warning customers to retrieve data before that date.

LiveLoop is a startup company that was founded by Amal Dorai and David Nelson and was financially backed by venture capital firms New Enterprise Associates and Columbus Nova Technology Partners. At the time of its acquisition, LiveLoop offered a single product, called LiveLoop. It's a PowerPoint add-on designed to make it easier for end users to share and access PowerPoint presentations by sharing URL links to them.

The idea of the LiveLoop product was to avoid situations in which large PowerPoint files were shared via e-mails. The company also claimed that its solution dispensed with the need to download client applications or Web presentation enablement software, such as Cisco's WebEx or Citrix's GoToMeeting. It facilitated the viewing of PowerPoint presentations on smartphones. It also made it easier to share PowerPoint presentations across platforms, such as Macs, according to LiveLoop's Web site.

Microsoft isn't talking about its plans for LiveLoop, but it seems its technology will be used across the Microsoft Office suite of products, per a Microsoft spokesperson.

"Microsoft is excited to welcome the talented team from LiveLoop to help build great collaboration across Office applications, as part of our strategy and vision to reinvent productivity," the spokesperson indicated.