Facebook Workplace vs Microsoft Viva

2023. Microsoft ditches Yammer brand and goes all-in on Viva Engage



Microsoft has officially announced the discontinuation of Yammer, the enterprise social network that it acquired over a decade ago for $1.2 billion. Despite Microsoft's previous efforts to promote Yammer by integrating it into its core Office suite, the company has shifted its focus towards developing alternative communication tools like Microsoft Teams. In 2019, Microsoft integrated Yammer with Teams, and two years later, it introduced Viva—an "employee experience platform" designed to serve as a modern corporate intranet. Over the past months, Microsoft has been actively enhancing Viva, and in the previous year, it launched Viva Engage as an evolution of the Yammer Communities app.


2022. Microsoft wants to add Stories to corporate portals



Microsoft is venturing into the enterprise realm by introducing Stories, a forthcoming feature within its Viva "employee experience" platform, aimed at bringing the popular snackable content format to the corporate world. While the Stories format, known for its ability to captivate audiences, may seem contradictory to the productivity-focused mindset of corporate customers subscribing to Viva, Microsoft claims otherwise. The company argues that there is a genuine interest in ephemeral photo and video slideshows within the workplace. According to Microsoft, these Stories provide a "fun, familiar way" for employees to maintain connections with their colleagues.


2022. Microsoft is elevating Viva from pure employee portal to job support platform starting with sales



When Microsoft introduced Viva last year, it positioned the platform as an employee portal where individuals could access information such as parental leave policies and other internal communications related to company culture and policies. However, it appears that Microsoft has grander aspirations for Viva beyond being a typical employee intranet that provides essential employee information. Today, Microsoft announced the introduction of the first of potentially multiple job-specific features within Viva, beginning with sales. This tool is built on Office 365 and optimized for Microsoft Dynamics 365 CRM. By associating a customer's name or contact, Viva Sales can automatically retrieve documents, spreadsheets, presentations, emails, and other relevant materials into the CRM tool. It allows sales professionals to utilize the tools they already utilize and cherish on a daily basis, including email systems like Outlook, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and Teams. Microsoft will offer Viva Sales at no cost to its Microsoft Dynamic 365 customers.


2021. Microsoft launches employee experience platform Viva


Microsoft has introduced Viva, a new "employee experience platform" that reimagines the traditional intranet sites commonly provided by large companies to their employees. Viva encompasses essential features such as internal communication access, seamlessly integrated with SharePoint, Yammer, and other Microsoft tools. Moreover, Viva offers team analytics capabilities and integrates with LinkedIn Learning and other training content providers, including SAP SuccessFactors. Additionally, Microsoft has introduced Viva Topics, a feature designed for internal knowledge sharing within organizations. With Viva, Microsoft aims to enhance the overall employee experience by providing a comprehensive and integrated platform.


2020. Facebook’s Workplace, now with 5M paying users, adds drop-in video Rooms and more



Facebook has recently unveiled a range of new offerings for its enterprise-oriented chat and video platform, Workplace. These include Workplace versions of Rooms, a video drop-in feature similar to Houseparty, and Work Groups, which enable direct communication among colleagues in smaller groups outside of their wider circle of friends on Facebook. Notably, Workplace users will find the standout feature of Rooms particularly useful. It allows Workplace users to create links that can be accessed by others, even if they are not part of the user's Workplace group or on Facebook. This functionality resembles popular video conferencing platforms like Zoom, where a simple URL link grants entry to anyone with a camera, microphone, browser, and internet connection. Presently, Workplace boasts 5 million paying users, with millions more utilizing the platform for free.


2019. Facebook Workplace dives into enterprise video content management


To leverage the increasing emphasis on video within Facebook's consumer service, Facebook Workplace has taken several initiatives to enhance its own video capabilities. One notable step is the introduction of a dedicated app for the Portal, Facebook's video screen. Additionally, Workplace is introducing new video features, including captions displayed at the bottom of videos, automatic translation for 14 languages, and a new peer-to-peer (P2P) architecture that optimizes video transmission in bandwidth-constrained environments. These enhancements aim to differentiate the Workplace experience and demonstrate its suitability for businesses. While companies may already be using platforms like Slack, Workplace offers a compelling alternative or complement, encouraging businesses to consider adopting or migrating to this platform.


2018. Facebook Workplace gets 50 new app integrations



Facebook has expanded the capabilities of its Workplace business software by incorporating 50 additional app integrations. These integrations include popular platforms like ServiceNow, Atlassian's Jira Cloud, and Microsoft Sharepoint. Initially, Workplace offered only a few integrations such as Office 365, Salesforce, and OneDrive. With the introduction of these new integrations, Workplace is broadening its focus beyond collaboration to include automation and IT integration. Users can access these integrations through the newly introduced Workplace app discovery portal, which also features applications like SurveyMonkey, Cornerstone onDemand, Workday, and Smartsheet.


2017. Facebook Workplace gets standalone mobile apps



The business-oriented version of Facebook, known as Facebook Workplace, has made a significant update by introducing a separate app for desktop and mobile called Workplace Chat, dedicated solely to messaging functionalities. This move allows Workplace users to conveniently access various messaging features, such as screen and file sharing, private and group messages, and video calling, all within a single application. Speaking of video calling, Facebook has plans to incorporate group video calling into Workplace's array of messaging capabilities in the near future. It is worth noting that Facebook Workplace has witnessed considerable growth, with over 30,000 businesses and organizations currently utilizing the platform. This number has more than doubled compared to what Workplace reported six months ago, and prominent names like Starbucks, Spotify, Lyft, and Walmart are among its user base.


2017. Facebook Workplace gets desktop app



Facebook has fulfilled the long-standing request of its users by launching official desktop PC and Mac chat apps that include the highly desired features of screen sharing. Currently, these apps are exclusively available for Workplace, Facebook's enterprise collaboration software, which directly competes with other business applications like Slack. With over 14,000 businesses already utilizing Workplace and paying a fee of $1 to $3 per user, the recent addition of Wal-Mart to its client base further strengthens its position. The introduction of screensharing has the potential to attract more clients to Workplace by offering a superior alternative to the cumbersome screensharing options found in apps such as Skype and WebEx. Facebook's approach of swiftly developing an all-in-one collaboration app signifies its determination to dominate the office space, unlike its competitors who only provide fragmented solutions.


2017. Facebook introduced bots into Workplace



Facebook has recently unveiled several enhancements for its Workplace team communications tool. Notably, the company is introducing bots into the Workplace experience, available in both Messenger and Group chat. This development brings Workplace on par with Slack, which has offered similar bot functionality for some time. These bots are highly capable entities that can be summoned to assist users in various ways. For example, if there is an equipment issue, users can call upon @repairbot to locate someone who can fix it. Developers have the ability to create bots for work chat and Groups, enabling them to perform tasks such as helping with food orders or arranging a Lyft ride. Additionally, Workplace now offers new integrations with Box, Microsoft, and Quip/Salesforce. This means that when a file is shared within a Facebook group, instead of merely displaying a link, a thumbnail of the file will be shown. Clicking on the thumbnail will take users directly to the file, enabling easy editing and commenting.