A company executive for Facebook has stated that its upcoming enterprise version of the social network is scheduled for rollout in “the coming months.” Facebook at Work is set to offer a near-identical user interface and set of core features, however will be tailored to the business sector, with work profiles being completely independent from private accounts.
While Facebook at Work has already been deployed in some businesses, the service is still invite-only, with tight control over who can access the platform. When the service publicly launches, businesses won’t require an invite to use the site. The solution will take on industry leaders such as Microsoft’s Yammer, Slack, and LinkedIn, and provide a location for companies to manage communications and file collaboration on a single platform.
Facebook at Work has been built off Facebook"s back-end, making the user experience familiar for a wide range of users. The company’s director of global platform partnerships, Julien Codoriou, told Reuters that “95 percent of what we developed for Facebook is also adopted for Facebook at Work” to ensure the service feels similar to its precursor.
The features offered by Facebook at Work may make the service a viable product to deploy across companies, but many still question whether the platform will be able to attract enough companies to sustain itself. Pricing options at launch will play a key part in this, and are expected to be shared in the near future.
Source: Reuters