Microsoft has acquired cloud monitoring startup MetricsHub for an undisclosed amount
Microsoft announced on Monday that it has acquired cloud monitoring startup MetricsHub for an undisclosed amount.
Previously a participant in the Microsoft Accelerator, powered by TechStars, MetricsHub will now offer all Windows Azure cloud customers its premium product for free through the Windows Azure Store. The Windows Azure store was launched in November for users to extend their Azure infrastructure.
According to a blog post by MetricsHub, it will also convert all paying customers to the no-charge version of its Active Cloud Monitoring service.
MetricsHub is a public cloud monitoring service that monitors servers for more than 500 customers around the world, according to its website. It offers built-in Windows Azure diagnostics, which prior to its acquisition by Microsoft cost about 50 cents per instance per month and was part of the customers Azure bill.
Prior to its acquisition, MetricsHub only saw the information Azure permitted as it was a third party, but now it should be able to access a lot more data.
“Cloud solutions are compelling for a variety of reasons – scale, flexibility and value – particularly for companies looking to do more with less. However, it’s difficult to understand, monitor and correlate all the application data points that tell you how and when you need to scale your application,” Bob Kelly, corporate vice president, strategy and business development said in a statement.
“That’s where MetricsHub’s technology comes in. Their approach to automating performance optimization, with little effort on the part of customers, addresses these issues. It also ensures customers are only paying for what they need and maximizing the services they’re using,” he said.
While monitoring is becoming essential for cloud customers, the other interesting piece of this acquisition is it shows how participation in startup accelerator programs can help service providers get first dibs, so to speak, on technologies that they see as complementary to their offering.
Both MetricsHub and Microsoft said they will provide more detail about what the acquisition means in the “future.”
Talk back: What kind of cloud monitoring do you provide your customers with? Do you think MetricsHub is a good addition to Microsoft Azure cloud? Let us know in a comment.
About Nicole Henderson
Nicole Henderson is the Editor in Chief of the Web Host Industry Review where she covers daily news and features online, as well as in print. She has a bachelor of journalism from Ryerson University in Toronto. You can find her on Twitter @NicoleHenderson.
