Microsoft wants to make Powerpoint more Web-friendly, buys LiveLoop

The software giant didn't reveal any financial details, but confirmed the deal via email saying the team from LiveLoop will help build great collaboration across Office applications, as part of the company's strategy to reinvent productivity.

Beyond that, MIcrosoft isn't revealing what it plans to do with LiveLoop. The acquisition, however, fits well with its plan to make its applications and services available on as many devices as possible irrespective of the OS.

LiveLoop's technology converts PowerPoint files into URLs that can be viewed from computers and smartphones without installing any software, according to the company's website.

So instead of having to email to colleagues large presentations or use an online meeting service like GoToMeeting, users can share a URL to start an online meeting. Everyone's view will be synchronized to the presenter's slide, and the presentation can be updated at any time.

As a result of the deal, LiveLoop will be shutting down its service on April 24. On that date all presentations and user data will be permanently deleted, so anything users would like to retrieve from LiveLoop has to be downloaded before that date.

This isn't the first productivity company Microsoft has acquired under CEO Satya Nadella's reign. In December it bought mobile email app developer Acompli and in February it purchased mobile calendar app developer Sunrise. While both those companies are focused on native apps, the LiveLoop acquisition hints that Microsoft also sees a future in Web applications for smartphones.

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