Top 10: Enterprise Social networks

Updated: August 01, 2023

Enterprise social networks are private digital platforms designed to facilitate internal communication, collaboration, and knowledge sharing within large organizations. These networks provide a secure and centralized space for employees to connect, interact, and share information in a manner similar to popular social media platforms. Enterprise social networks often include features such as activity streams, groups, chat, file sharing, and employee profiles. By fostering open communication and transparency, these networks enable employees to collaborate across departments, share ideas, and stay informed about company updates and announcements. Enterprise social networks promote a sense of community and engagement among employees, enhancing teamwork, and breaking down communication barriers within the organization. Moreover, these networks offer valuable analytics and insights, enabling organizations to measure employee engagement and identify areas for improvement in internal communication and collaboration. As businesses seek to improve internal communication and foster a more connected workforce, enterprise social networks play a vital role in promoting collaboration, knowledge sharing, and a positive work culture. Some of the most popular enterprise social networks are listed below.

See also: Top 10 Enterprise Social Software

2018. Google+ for G Suite lives on and gets new features



While Google's social network Google+ is shutting down for consumers, the business version will continue to thrive and receive a host of new features. Google+ for G Suite closely resembles its consumer counterpart but places a strong emphasis on facilitating seamless information sharing among users within a company. The newly introduced features by Google offer administrators enhanced tools for post management and review, empower employees to tag content, and provide improved engagement metrics for post creators. With the introduction of tags, employees can effortlessly distribute content to all individuals within the company, regardless of their respective groups. G Suite customers who maintain their reporting structure within the service will have the ability to furnish employees with analytics, allowing them to gauge the reach of their posts across the organization and identify the teams that engage the most.


2018. Zoho Connect gets Projects integration, board templates


Zoho Connect, the social collaboration platform, has introduced integration with Zoho Projects, enabling users to seamlessly convert their conversations into actionable tasks. With this integration, you can now create new tasks in Zoho Projects directly from any of your Connect conversations and easily track their progress. Additionally, you can conveniently view and access tasks from all your Projects portals within Connect. Zoho Connect has also integrated ShowTime, enabling you to deliver presentations and training sessions effortlessly. Furthermore, the platform has introduced a new feature called board templates, which allows you to conveniently select and reuse any of your existing project boards whenever needed.


2017. Microsoft retires Yammer as stand-alone service



Microsoft has made the decision to replace the standalone enterprise social network Yammer in favor of achieving more extensive integration with Office 365 services. In the previous year, Microsoft made Yammer the default option for all eligible Office 365 customers, resulting in the majority of Yammer users utilizing it as part of their Office 365 subscription. Going forward, new customers interested in using Yammer will be required to sign up for an eligible Office 365 plan. In an official notice regarding Yammer, Microsoft stated its objective of "strengthening Yammer integration" with various collaboration tools within Office 365, including SharePoint, OneNote, and Planner.


2016. Facebook Workplace will open app store to compete with Slack



A key factor contributing to the immense popularity of the collaboration service Slack is its seamless integration with third-party business applications. This capability allows teams to effortlessly discuss new deals sourced from CRM systems, process incoming tickets from Helpdesk platforms, and include customers who communicate via Skype in their discussions. Recognizing the value of this approach, Facebook aims to emulate Slack's success by incorporating it into their enterprise social network, Workplace. To achieve this, Facebook has launched a developer platform that facilitates easy integration with other applications. These integrations will subsequently be available for users to discover and install from the Workplace app store. Presently, the network supports integration with Google's G Suite, Microsoft's cloud Active Directory, as well as single sign-on services such as Okta and OneLogin.


2015. Enterprise social network Convo released new mobile apps



A week following the launch of its new web and Mac desktop applications, the collaboration service Convo is now introducing updated versions of its mobile apps. The mobile apps have undergone a redesign to align with the refreshed appearance of the desktop apps. Notable enhancements include an instant search feature that displays results in real-time as you type, improved sharing capabilities, and a new in-app notification center. CEO Faizan Buzdar has expressed that these relaunches signify a complete rebuilding of Convo "from the ground up" and that the company intends to extend these changes across all its platforms.


2015. Facebook At Work is not a LinkedIn killer



When Facebook announced the development of an enterprise product called Facebook at Work last year, many anticipated it would rival LinkedIn. However, it has become evident that it will join the crowded space of internal social networks in the enterprise sector. As the product enters its testing phase, Facebook will directly compete with established platforms like Microsoft's Yammer, Chatter, Slack, Convo, Socialcast, and others. Facebook at Work will resemble the functionality of current features such as Groups and public profiles. The platform will maintain the familiar look and feel of Facebook, including the News Feed, groups, messaging, and events. Employers can create dedicated log-ins for employees to access their Work accounts, or users can integrate their existing profiles to consolidate all activities in one place. The Facebook at Work app is currently available for download on iOS devices, with an Android version expected to follow soon.