Microsoft Rehauls BI Product Line, Drops ProClarity NameMicrosoft Rehauls BI Product Line, Drops ProClarity Name

Microsoft is releasing Office PerformancePoint Server 2007 on Wednesday, which marks the end of the ProClarity brand with the absorption of those acquired technologies into the new offering.

Microsoft Office PerformancePoint Server is a combination of the company's in-house developed products, including Business Scorecard Manager 2005 (which also loses its former title as part of the rebranding) and Excel, plus ProClarity's advanced visualization and analysis technologies, and new offerings from Microsoft for planning, budgeting, and forecasting. Microsoft acquired ProClarity in June 2006.

The offering represents a newly cohesive strategy to Microsoft's previously scattered approach to business intelligence. The most obvious improvement for users, says Microsoft, is that the products in the suite will be able to exchange information without having to take extra steps, such as exporting data from one app to the next. For example, those using Excel for planning can access planning data in a spreadsheet directly from the scorecard app.

The repacking and additional features should help Microsoft accelerate its already rapid growth in the BI market. Microsoft also has priced the software competitively at $20,000 per server and $195 per client license.

Microsoft's BI sales grew 28% last year to $480 million, ranking it fourth behind Business Objects, SAS and Cognos, according to IDC. The overall BI market grew 11.5%.