Facebook Takes on Slack With Workplace, Its Own Team Collaboration Service
After nearly two years of private testing, Facebook has officially launched its social networking product geared toward companies. Formerly called Facebook at Work, Workplace by Facebook enables colleagues to collaborate using familiar aspects of Facebook’s platform along with a few other features.
How does it work?
Essentially, it’s the Facebook you know and love (or hate), except it’s used for connecting with coworkers and managers instead of family and friends. In fact, it requires an account separate from a user’s personal Facebook account, specifically one that’s linked to a user’s work email address.
There’s News Feed, but without the annoying ads. There’s also the ability to create and join groups for sharing interests and project updates. There is, of course, chat, along with voice and video calling, for directly communicating with relevant colleagues. And there’s even Facebook Live, which may come in handy during meetings and presentations. Basically, if it’s on personal Facebook, it’s on Workplace in one form or another.
We’ve brought the best of Facebook to the workplace — whether it’s basic infrastructure such as News Feed, or the ability to create and share in Groups or via chat, or useful features such as Live, Reactions, Search and Trending posts. This means you can chat with a colleague across the world in real time, host a virtual brainstorm in a Group, or follow along with your CEO’s presentation on Facebook Live.
- FacebookWith regard to features that are exclusive to Workplace, Facebook offers an analytics dashboard, integrations via identity providers, and an upcoming Multi-Company Groups feature, which will allow members of different organizations to collaborate with one another.
How much does it cost?
Beyond its tried-and-tested base platform, perhaps the best thing that Workplace has going for it against its rivals is its competitive pricing, which is based only on who’s actively used it each month.
While it’s free for nonprofits and educational institutions, Workplace is priced at: $3 per user per month for up to 1,000 active users; $2 per user per month for at least 1,001 but no more than 10,000 active users; or as low as $1 per user per month for at least 10,001 active users. The service offers a three-month trial at no cost.
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How do I get Workplace?
Workplace by Facebook may be accessed on the web and through its official mobile apps on iOS and Android.
Download Workplace by Facebook
Before you can use Workplace, your company must have already signed up for the service. If not, and if your company is interested in using Workplace, it may apply for the service on workplace.fb.com.
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