Microsoft's Latest Acquisition Is a Well-Aimed Jab at Amazon

Competition for cloud-based services is heating up

In a move that inches it further into the Amazon-dominated world of online retail, Microsoft has acquired marketing tech startup PromoteIQ, a New York-based company that helps major brands and sellers diversify their ecommerce offerings.

PromoteIQ allows brand-centric buyers to measure analytics and track their campaigns across these sites rather than relying on external ad networks. It’s a pitch that’s drawn $6.5 million in private funding, along with the attention of household names including P&G, Unilever, Kraft and, now, Microsoft.

Formerly called Spotfront, PromoteIQ brands itself as a software as a service (SaaS) platform that lets media buyers working with a particular brand run native ads embedded alongside the organic content of e-commerce sites—including Target, Walmart and, naturally, Amazon.

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