Microsoft is getting serious about something it calls “organizational analytics” with the acquisition of VoloMetrix, a service that analyzes organizational performance using anonymized data gathered from corporate networks.

In a blog post announcing the move, Rajesh Jha, Microsoft corporate vice president in charge of Outlook and Office 365, said the newly acquired technology would help Microsoft in its efforts to make employees more effective at work. The plan is to integrate VoloMetrix’s technology with Microsoft’s own forthcoming Delve Organizational Analytics service, which will soon become a part of Office 365.

Companies use VoloMetrix to gain a better understanding of how their business is functioning and what their employees are up to. The platform can assess how employees are performing at their jobs, and glean insights on employee communication and interaction. The software integrates a company’s calendar, email servers and critical business apps to collect metadata about where and what people are working on. VoloMetrix then crunches that data to provide decision makers with an overview on how different departments and organizations are working together.

That fits nicely with Microsoft’s stated plans for Office 365, which already offers a variety of collaboration tools and will soon add Delve’s capabilities. Microsoft previewed Delve at the Microsoft Ignite conference earlier this year – the platform is somewhat similar to VoloMetrix in that it aims to give employees and businesses more information about how their work habits compared with colleagues, using data gleaned from Office 365. Yesterday, the company said it will launch a preview of Delve in the next month, with general availability to follow by the end of this year.

“This acquisition will combine VoloMetrix’ experience, technology and track record of success with Office 365 and our previously announced Delve Organizational Analytics,” wrote Microsoft’s Jha in his blog post. “I am excited about this big step forward in our company ambition to reinvent productivity and business process, and how it will deliver new value to our customers with organizational analytics.”

VoloMetrix CEO Ryan Fuller penned his own blog post on the acquisition, saying that Microsoft’s vision aligns with his own.

“Microsoft has a huge vision to reinvent productivity and a set of assets in Office 365 that are fundamental to how work gets done,” he wrote. “By joining them, we will be able to continue to pursue our shared mission and have an impact at a staggering global scale.”

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