A suite of new MSN apps for iOS isn’t the only news out of Microsoft this morning. HockeyApp, the popular beta app distribution and analytics service, announced today that it has been acquired by Microsoft. HockeyApp supports several software platforms including iOS, OS X, Android, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.
In its announcement of the acquisition, Microsoft says it plans to leverage the features of HockeyApp by integrating the service into their own Application Insights service through Visual Studio Online.
Microsoft also says it plans to release Application Insights SDKs for iOS and Android users “in the coming months,” as part of its “mobile first, cloud first” approach.
Both HockeyApp and Microsoft said new and existing HockeyApp users will continue to be able to use and enjoy the same beta distribution, crash reporting, and analytics features as before with further integration with Microsoft’s cross-platform tools coming in the future.
HockeyApp says Microsoft has been a prominent customer since 2011 with HockeyApp supporting multiple mobile platforms, and we’ve seen Microsoft focus heavily on cross-platform applications including dedicated Office apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android and a partnership with Dropbox this year.
The news of Microsoft acquiring HockeyApp follows Apple’s acquisition of competing beta distribution service TestFlight last February. Apple has since integrated some features of its acquired service like beta distribution with more coming soon including app analytics for developers.
