paratureMicrosoft has acquired Parature, a customer service software company, to help its Dynamics customer relationship management software compete more effectively against the likes of Salesforce.com, according to reports by the Wall Street Journal and TechCrunch today.

The deal is valued at $100 million, according to the TechCrunch report.

Microsoft isn’t commenting on the reports. Microsoft doesn’t always publicly announce acquisitions, depending on factors including the size.

Parature dates back to an idea hatched by a group of college students at Cornell University back in 2000. As of last year, the company said it served 70 million end users worldwide.

Update, Tuesday morning: Microsoft has confirmed the deal (but not the price). See this post on the Dynamics CRM blog.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.