Microsoft buys a little startup to beef up Satya Nadella's favorite product

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella himself is reportedly a huge fan of Delve, a Microsoft Office app that scans your email, calendar, documents, and whatever else to surface the stuff you need to see.

In an effort to make Delve bigger, faster, and smarter, Microsoft has snapped up VoloMetrix, a tiny startup with technology that helps you make much better use of your time at work.

"[Similar] to how fitness trackers help us understand our health in our personal lives, innovative new solutions are emerging to objectively measure and prioritize our time at work," Microsoft writes in a blog entry announcing the acquisition.

Basically, VoloMetrix is supposed to analyze your data (with privacy controls intact, Microsoft assures) and help you answer questions like how to better manage your time, and if you know the right people to help you get stuff done.

VoloMetrix calls it "organizational analytics," and Microsoft says it'll be making its way into Delve and the Microsoft Office 365 suite.

"Our goals were to fundamentally change companies' understanding of how their people drive their outcomes and empower every employee to take back their time and have the very best tools to be successful," writes VoloMetrix CEO and co-founder Ryan Fuller in his own blog entry.

According to LinkedIn, VoloMetrix is based in Microsoft's backyard in Seattle, and has about 40 employees.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. VoloMetrix is a venture-backed startup with $16.9 million in funding from the likes of Split Rock Partners and Shasta Ventures.

Microsoft did not reply to a request for comment at press time.