Microsoft has acquired systems management vendor Opalis Software for about $60 million, according to an analyst report.

Brenon Daly, an analyst with The 451 Group, blogged earlier this week about the deal, citing unnamed financial and industry sources.

The VC-backed Mississauga, Ontario, startup was making about $10 million a year from sales of software for automating IT processes, according to Daly. It also partnered with Microsoft in the spring (download PDF) , integrating its software into Microsoft's System Center management platform.

Daly's report was echoed by blogs and tweets.

Through a spokeswoman, Microsoft said it is not commenting on rumors and speculation. Opalis, meanwhile, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Opalis' CEO Todd DeLaughter was previously general manager of Hewlett-Packard's OpenView systems management division.

Daly said the Opalis acquisition would be the fourth in this space in the last two years. HP bought Opsware for $54 million in 2007, while BMC Software Inc. acquired RealOps for $53 million. CA Inc. bought Optinuity last year. One key difference, he said, was that Opalis' revenue appeared to be higher than its counterparts at the time of acquisition.