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In what is probably a reaction to Adobe buying the technology assets of Pixmantec, Microsoft has just bought iView Multimedia, the people between digital asset management software iView Media and iView Media Pro.
Unlike the Adobe/Pixmantec deal however, there are more concrete details on the future of iView Media and Pro, namely that iView products will continue to be sold through the iView Multimedia website and will still offer full support to existing and new customers. Even better news is that Mac versions of the software will still be available and developed in the future, which is heartening for Mac users given Microsoft's typically haphazard view of the Mac platform (Internet Explorer Mac anyone?)
Naturally the more long-term future of the iView product brand is less certain so soon after acquisition, but iView say the main reason for the deal is to get the chance to improve their product with the support of Microsoft behind it.
For Microsoft the benefits are even greater as they now have a big entry point into the DAM market through Media Pro, and a chance to compete with Adobe and Apple's DAM software (Lightroom and Aperture respectively), and have access to a huge iView loyal Mac user base. With the rumblings around the Microsoft world of the new Photoshop-killer app called Expression, Microsoft will surely look to integrate some form of asset management within it (or have a complimentary program to handle this) and with the iView development team on their books, this software could look very interesting.
For more details look at the iView acquisition FAQ and an open letter from Yan Calotychos the founder of iView explaining the deal.
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