Microsoft bought FieldOne Systems on Thursday in the first expansion of its Dynamics customer relationship management platform since an executive shake-up and the write-down of its Nokia mobile division.
Products from the field service management provider, which is quartered in New Jersey in the US, have already been integrated with Microsoft’s Office365 and SharePoint, easing the absorption of FieldOne’s portfolio into the Dynamics suite.
Writing online Bob Stutz , CVP of Dynamics CRM at Microsoft, said: "Field service management is a specific but critically important area of customer service, providing companies with the ability to deliver end-to-end field service.
"This is a unique, and transformational point in time for these solutions as enterprises look to improve their responsiveness to customers with service in the field – taking service directly to the customer anytime a service cannot be managed by phone or other channels."
Though FieldOne began life focusing on small and medium businesses, the firm’s decision to build a field service offering on the Dynamics platform coincided with a shift towards larger enterprises.
"With the market for field service solutions growing rapidly, and demand being driven by the need for mobile software solutions and cloud-based products, Microsoft recognised the unique capabilities of FieldOne Sky and our ability to address a very real market need," said Ilan Slasky, chief executive of FieldOne.
Reacting to the news Clive Longbottom, analyst at the research firm Quocirca, told CBR: "FieldOne was created to work with Dynamics, so it makes sense for Microsoft to acquire it to bolster the Dynamics portfolio.
"It’s pretty much outside the main Microsoft mothership: Dynamics has pretty much always been regarded as a separate business – this is just a further move along that."
Microsoft’s purchase follows a difficult month for the world’s biggest software company by revenue, chief executive Satya Nadella having ditched four senior executives in a bid to distance himself from the previous leadership of Steve Ballmer.
The firm was also forced into an embarrassing write-down of $7.6bn (£4.9bn) relating to its purchase of Nokia, which Microsoft bought only last year for the lesser sum of $7.2bn.
Alongside the devaluation the company also said there would likely be 7,800 jobs cuts over the next few months.
Writing in an internal email Nadella explained the change as a reorientation of Microsoft’s policy to "three customers segments" where he felt the company could make "unique contributions".
"We’ll bring business customers the best management, security and productivity experiences they need; value phone buyers the communications services they want; and Windows fans the flagship devices they’ll love," he said.
More positively for the firm, a study by the Spiceworks IT community reported that Microsoft is on track to deliver 1bn Windows 10 devices by 2017.
