Dive Brief:

• Microsoft announced Tuesday plans to acquire Intentional Software, a company focused on next generation team productivity apps. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
• Charles Simonyi, founder, chairman and CTO of Intentional Software, and a pivotal Microsoft alum who helped develop some of Microsoft’s Office tools like Excel and Word, will now return to Microsoft as part of the deal.
• Rajesh Jha, executive vice president in the Microsoft Office Product Group, says the acquisition will give Microsoft the ability to add new tools and services to the company’s productivity offering.

Dive Insight:

Intentional founder Simonyi said in a blog that the company was originally launched to help make computer programming easier. But over the last few years that focus shifted, and the company has more recently concentrated on developing what it calls "productivity scenarios for the future workforce."

Competition in the workplace productivity area is fierce, with legacy companies like Microsoft vying against industry darlings like Slack. Intentional may have some key idea or new element that Microsoft sees as a game changer in the space.

Any company that can make a true breakthrough in the workplace productivity space stands to win big. A recent survey by Harvard Business Review found 90% of respondents said they expect collaboration technology to become more important to their organizations over the next two years.