Microsoft has announced the acquisition of Ally.io, a software service that helps companies measure their progress against  Objectives and Key Results, also known as OKRS, a common way that enables the management to measure both individual and business progress. 

Microsoft plans to add Ally to its family of employee experience products called Viva. The idea behind the acquisition of Ally is to provide a more transparent way of communicating company goals and objectives to employees. 

“Aligning the work of employees with the strategic mission and core priorities of the company is a priority for all organisations. To do this, leaders must invest in tools that communicate transparency around big business stakes and create ways to chain aspirational goals and report results at all levels of an organisation,” said Kirk Koenigsbauer, COO and corporate vice president in charge of experiences and devices at Microsoft. 

While the software giant declined to share the price of the transaction, PitchBook data indicates that Ally last raised capital at a $345m post-money valuation. That amount was set when the company booked $50m earlier this year – for a total of $76m raised.

Vetri Vellore, founder and CEO of Ally.io, said his company can now grow products much faster, as part of Microsoft, than it would have by remaining on its own. The deal gives them an opportunity to work on goals and expectations and to incorporate them into work tools that people are using for remote work. These would purportedly help keep distributed teams on track.

The integration of Ally into the Microsoft suite of products could signal the start of a round of consolidation in the OKR-focused software space, which is currently occupied by players such as WorkBoard, Koan, Gtmhub, Perdoo and WeekDone.