Software giant Microsoft (MSFT +0.37%) has acquired native language analytics specialist Netbreeze in order to bolster the social media capabilities of its Dynamics CRM software.
Microsoft said the Swiss company was started by "talented analytics scientists" who will now join Microsoft.
The smaller company's technology is unique in how it can combine natural language processing with data mining and semantic text analysis, according to Microsoft executive Bob Stutz. Netbreeze supports 28 different writing languages, which will be an important advantage over competing CRM offerings. Microsoft said it provides a benefit over competitors that translate to a common language then analyze sentiment from there.
The acquisition will complement the recent purchase of MarketingPilot, which was acquired in October. The purchase follows a recent trend of CRM providers to increase integration with social media platforms.
