Facebook is ready to release Facebook at Work, a service for businesses that will allow employees to speak to colleagues and “collaborate over documents,” according to Financial Times.
The new service is described as a mixture between document editing features seen in Google Docs and Microsoft Office. Employees will be allowed to maintain separate personal and work accounts. The Facebook Work account will have the same look as the personal account and will feature similar groups and newsfeed. The difference is that information is shared only between colleagues and managers.
The popular service, Slack, also allows employees to share and edit documents within the workplace, and it has been quite successful. Employers wanting to use Slack have to purchase a subscription, something Facebook at Work will probably not require – at least not yet. Financial Times says that Facebook is “unlikely” to charge businesses fees in the beginning, which may be necessary if the social media giant hopes to compete with Google, Microsoft, and LinkedIn.
Facebook for Work has existed for several years, only being used amongst Facebook employees. A lot of people complain that Facebook is only responding to Slack’s success, which is a tough argument to make since Slack was released in 2013.
yes, FB@work is real yes, it’s probably coming in next few months but it aint new — been in the works for years, so not reaction to slack
— ಠ_ಠ (@MikeIsaac) November 17, 2014
Facebook’s professional profiles could be publicly indexed by Google, which would be huge if they wish to rival LinkedIn public profiles. If Facebook for Work is equipped with reliable security software, they could easily stand against Slack, which has “questionable” security measures. Common office bans on Facebook suggest another reason why Facebook for Work could be so successful. Facebook currently has 1.3 billion monthly active users. A Salary.com survey showed that 23% of workers use the social media site at work because they are so addicted.
As of now, the new service is receiving mixed reviews, such as ZDNet’s Charlie Osborne, who says that “there are more secure and professional-looking solutions already on the market.”
Facebook for Work will be available sometime within the next several months. Do you think it will succeed?