Microsoft acquires Rapt

Microsoft today revealed plans to acquire Rapt, a provider of advertising yield management technology for digital media publishers.

The Redmond giant said that Rapt’s technology, along with its information and advisory services offerings, will become components of the Atlas Publisher Suite, part of Microsoft's Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group.

With the inclusion of Rapt, the Atlas Publisher Suite will be beefed up to provide integrated asset and inventory management, forecasting, yield and sales management, and ad delivery and operations.

According to Microsoft, a “key” product that will emerge from the marriage of Rapt's planning capabilities and Atlas' campaign management capabilities is an integrated publisher sales workflow offering.

"Online publishers have a complex array of needs, and they require more attentive and sophisticated partners to help them solve these challenges," said Brian McAndrews, senior vice president of the Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group at Microsoft.

"The opportunity to join forces with Microsoft and to see our technology flourish inside a much larger platform was too compelling to pass up," added Tom Chavez, founder, president and CEO of Rapt.