Microsoft has revealed it has acquired Acompli, the developer behind mobile email apps of the same name for iOS and Android. Revealed early via a mistakenly-published blog post before being pulled from view, the acquisition gives Microsoft a mobile email client from which it could easily integrate certain aspects into work already carried out by Microsoft's Outlook team.
Though not revealed by either side, it is believed by Recode that the purchase price paid by Microsoft was more than $200 million. "This acquisition is part of our company-wide effort to help people accomplish more with their mobile devices," writes Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Outlook and Office 365 Rajesh Jha. After bringing Office to iOS devices followed by an Android version, Jha advises the purchase is a significant step to delivering "the best productivity experiences across mobile platforms."
Microsoft has yet to bring Outlook to Android and iOS, with the app being one of the major productivity-related aspects of its desktop software. Acompli performs a lot of what Outlook is capable of doing, managing contacts, calendar entries, and email while also providing support for Microsoft Exchange and other email providers. Microsoft is quiet about what its plans for the app are, but it is possible Acompli will be offered to Office 365 users as a temporary email organization app before a more formal Outlook release is completed.
Despite being brought in to work as part of the Outlook team, existing users will continue to have access to the app in the foreseeable future. Acompli CEO Javier Soltero claims "Your app and accounts will continue to work and the team will continue on our fast pace of improving and adding new functionality every couple of weeks."
