Microsoft acquires British software developer iView

Microsoft Corp. has acquired iView Multimedia, a London based developer of MediaPro,however, financial terms have not yet been unveiled.

Besides affirming the news, the British maker of digital asset management software, promised that Mac support in its digital asset-management products would continue. MediaPro is available for Mac OS X and certain versions of Windows.

In a statement, the company founder, Yan Calotychos, said that the acquirement would make it possible for iView to ballyhoo its flagship MediaPro product, while also strengthening customer service and support. "Microsoft has many exciting plans for iView’s technologies and products," Calotychos asserted.

"Microsoft will fully support the existing Mac products, will continue to sell Mac versions of the current iView product line and will offer upgrade pricing to all Mac users of future products that may be available based on the iView products," Yan Calotychos said.

IView MediaPro allows photographers and other creative professionals to manage and catalogue their works through a searchable archive. The software backs over 100 file formats for images, audio, video and other useful digital resources.

IView was originally built for the Mac, but is now also available for Windows. The company intends to continue developing its products for both platforms, Yan Calotychos said. Along with the iView development team, Calotychos would join Microsoft.

Yan Calotychos described the sale of his company as "an unprecedented opportunity to be even more responsive to a thriving market," and added "Our engineering and marketing team here at iView are energized and excited to be joining the Microsoft team, and I personally will continue to be involved in the evolution of the product for years to come."

However, the company did not provide any future product plans, saying they would be announced at a future date, still the software would continue to be sold, and support would be provided under current terms.