Microsoft on Monday announced the acquisition of Teamprise, a small software company that creates tools that allow developers working in non-Microsoft environments and operating systems, such as Eclipse and Linux, to build apps using Visual Studio.

Teamprise was a division of Champaign, Ill.-based SourceGear, LLC. Financial terms of the deal were not released.

Microsoft officials said the move makes it easier for its developer customers to work with a host of tools, not just those made by Redmond. Among the environments supported by Teamprise are Unix, the Mac OS, Linux, and Eclipse.

The company plans to integrate Teamprise's technology assets into Visual Studio 2010 and future editions of the software.

Visual Studio 2010 Ultimate users with MSDN subscriptions will receive Teamprise Client Suite as part of their original subscription purchase, Microsoft said.

"We know our customers face daily challenges with management, collaboration, and development in heterogeneous environments," said S. Somasegar, senior VP of Microsoft's Developer division, in a statement.

"With the acquisition of the Teamprise assets, we're taking a step forward on this journey, providing customers with a viable, cross-platform development solution that will help produce business results more quickly," said Somasegar.

Teamprise's Team Foundation Server and Teamprise Client Suite technologies allow developers to use a single tool to manage complex development challenges, such as version control, build management, work item tracking, process guidance, and business intelligence.

"For nearly four years, we have made it our mission to deliver strong, best-of-breed tools to our customers for cross-platform development," said Teamprise general manager Corey Steffen, in a statement.

"By joining forces with Microsoft, we see an opportunity to further our mission—and the customers' benefits—by fostering joint innovation between Teamprise solutions and Team Foundation Server," said Steffen.

Microsoft shares were up 1.54%, to $28.96, in late afternoon trading Monday.

InformationWeek Analytics has published an independent analysis on application delivery. Download the report here (registration required).