Microsoft is to acquire data warehouse appliance maker DATAllegro in a bid to strengthen its foothold in the enterprise business intelligence market.

The company said that it will retain most of DATAllegro's team in addition to its headquarters in Aliso Viejo, California which will become a 'centre of excellence' for data warehousing.

The move is widely seen as an attempt to bolster Microsoft's position in the business intelligence market, which is experiencing rapid growth in the face of burgeoning volumes of enterprise data.

As a result of the acquisition, Microsoft will gain customers in the retail, telecoms and manufacturing sectors, although Oracle remains the biggest player in overall segments of the market.

Microsoft has been busy enhancing SQL Server's credentials as a data warehouse platform for its business intelligence and reporting tools.

Building on its growing strength among small and medium-sized firms, Microsoft claims that SQL Server 2008 now "delivers enterprise-class capabilities".

"The addition of the DATAllegro team and its technology will take our data platform to the highest scale of data warehousing," said Ted Kummert, corporate vice president of Microsoft's data and storage platform division.

Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.