Microsoft News Tracker

Ina Fried at CNET:

Microsoft has acquired iView Multimedia, the founder of the British photo cataloging software company said on its Web site.

“With Microsoft’s purchase of iView, we are in a position to enhance our industry-leading product, whilst strengthening our customer service and support,” iView Multimedia founder Yan Calotychos said in an open letter to customers.

The information on iView’s site did not include any terms of the deal. A Microsoft representative was not immediately available for comment.

The London-based company’s software, iView Media and iView Media Pro, is used for managing digital photos and other electronic art.

Per the associated FAQ:

Q: Why did Microsoft buy iView?

A: Microsoft bought iView because we are a premier provider of digital asset management (DAM) technology. Today’s creative and business professionals create, share and store large volumes of digital files. iView’s DAM software tools are essential for streamlining workflows to manage and use these files.

There’s speculation in the CNET article that the iView products will be used to complement Microsoft’s Expression family of development tools and that’s as good an estimate as any until more concrete details are available.