The deal will see Groove folded into Microsoft’s Information Worker Group to help round-out Office Live Meeting, Live Communications Server, SharePoint Portal and SharePoint Services in peer-to-peer communications and virtual workspaces.
Ozzie is joining as chief technology officer, reporting directly to chief software architect Bill Gates. Ozzie is the creator of IBM’s Lotus Notes e-mail and collaboration software that Microsoft has battled for years with Exchange.
The fact Ozzie is reporting directly to Gates illustrates the importance Microsoft is placing on both the deal and the presence of Ozzie inside the organization.
In a statement, Gates called Ozzie and the Groove team great innovators adding Microsoft and its customers will greatly benefit from their experience.
While it is unclear on Microsoft plans to exactly integrate Groove with the Office System one thing is certain what ever Microsoft decides, it is likely to impact the Longhorn-wave of products, which are expected both during and after 2006.
The release of the delayed Longhorn client will pave the way for new versions of Office, versions that have been unable to proceed until the base client operating system is completed. Microsoft last year removed three major planned pieces of the Longhorn architecture from the roadmap to realistically hit the 2006 delivery date.
Microsoft is an investor in Groove, who committed $38m to the company in 2003 with joint investors Intel, Accel and others. Financial terms of Microsoft’s Groove acquisition were not revealed.
