Facebook have launched a workplace version of its mobile app and of its website, marking the company’s first step into the extremely competitive and crowded enterprise software arena
The new product is called Workplace by Facebook and has been in testing for more than a year. It is now available to all businesses. It has been designed as a workplace communication and collabration tool, putting Facebook in direct competition with the face-growing start-up compant Slack.
Workplace is a subscription based product, a departure from the personal advertisment-driven Facebook that most of us use on a day-today basis. The company is charging businesses between US$1 and US$3 per user.
In comparison, Slack’s cheapest business plan charges around US$7 per user. Facebook has been actively taking on all social media competitors by bringing out new innovative products to challenge the established names, such as apps and add-ons to challenge the fast-growing photo sharing app Snapchat. It aims to win over employees and managers alike as many see it as a distraction rather than benefit, particularly in the office environment. To respond to this, it is not requiring users to sign in with their personal accounts and its limiting the site’s signature NewsFeed where users see regular updates from their friends and other accounts and pages that they follow. In addition to the usability of the product in the working environment, Workplace is being used by Facebook to build a direct sales unit where professional services can advertise and sign up to campaigns.
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