Microsoft acquires Mobile Data Labs, maker of productivity solutions for

In fact, I’d be willing to bet that soon MileIQ owners will need to log in with a Microsoft ID in order to continue using the app. For “free”, of course.

Microsoft’s corporate vice president for Outlook and Office 365, Rajesh Jha on Thursday (5 November) announced the acquisition through a blog post.

Mobile Data Labs, the company behind financial app MileIQ, is the target of Microsoft’s most recent acquisition.

The app so far has found a willing audience with over 1 million regular users and the position of top-grossing finance app in the iTunes store for 20 months straight. In December 2014, it bought email app Acompli with the intention of enhancing its Outlook apps for iOS and Android.

Why this matters: You could argue that buying MDL means Microsoft is buying an app for Windows Phone, but that hasn’t been Microsoft’s track record of late.

“By partnering with Microsoft, our horizon and momentum are now even bigger-and our ability to deliver excellent products, delightful experiences and personalized service is greater than ever”. Microsoft will certainly utilise Mobile Data Labs’ resources to add new features to its existing mobile productivity portfolio.

Also, he noted, the two companies share similar goals and have a shared vision. Now their startup has joined forces with Microsoft, which earlier this year adopted the core ambition of “reinventing productivity and business processes”.

Co- founded in 2013 by Dietrich and Dan Bomze, Mobile Data Labs had raised over $15 million in funing, including a $12 million round in January. It looks like Microsoft will let the team continue building mobile productivity apps for now.

“In the USA alone, there are over 55 million small business employees, entrepreneurs and other mobile professionals”.