The merger will allow users to share content from Workplace’s news feeds and from its groups into the Microsoft Teams platform.
Platforms for remote working, such as Workplace and Microsoft Teams, have become essential tools for many workplaces since the Covid-19 pandemic forced many people to work from home.
Ujjwal Singh, head of Workplace, said: "You have to meet employees where they directly are, wherever they're doing their work, whatever platforms they're most using." He said the merger was designed to help users of both products.
“One thing I’ve learned ... there’s not going to be a one and only communications tool on the planet,” says Jeff Teper, head of Microsoft 365 collaboration. “People are going to choose a number of tools, so I think it’s on us as responsible vendors to make sure they can integrate and interoperate.”
Teper sees this as an opportunity for Microsoft to “break silos” within organisations by partnering “with all sorts of vendors in the tech industry.”
Karandeep Anand, vice president of business products for Meta, told the Washington Post that the partnership was based on customer feedback. The integration combines “the power of Teams to broadcast and power of Workplace to consume in a very consumer friendly way.”
Facebook says it has 7 million paid subscribers using Workplace, including companies such as Deliveroo and Walmart. But according to some, Facebook has a long way to go to catch up in the workspace sector.
“They’re starting from behind, and they’re partnering to gain share,” said Mark Shmulik, an analyst with brokerage firm AB Bernstein. “Facebook has a long way to go.”
“This is an opportunity to strengthen the partnership and the business around metaverse,” Alex Zukin, an analyst at equity research firm Wolfe Research, told the Washington Post. “It makes sense for Microsoft … at least in an effort to drive the conversation.”
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