Facebook recently announced a new partnership with Microsoft Corp. in an effort to improve workplace productivity using online email and other technology. The social media giant will use Microsoft software while in the process of producing its own workplace communication and collaborative service.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Facebook announced it will not use Microsoft’s Office 365, the web-based version of Microsoft’s large suite of workplace productivity programs.
Taking into account that most people will work an average of 90,000 hours in their lifetime, improving efficiency is crucial to success.
Contrary to belief, Facebook will not be using all the programs that Office 365 has to offer. The social network, which has over 13,000 employees, will use the email and calendar services that come with the package. However, it doesn’t utilize Skype for business, messaging, or video conferencing services, because the two are in direct competition.
While the company is mainly looking to use the service for emailing and scheduling purposes, it will continue to use its own Facebook at Work service. Facebook at Work is an internal service in which employees can communicate with each other and share content through the company’s secure web interface.
“Facebook at Work doesn’t end the need for email,” Mr. Campos said. “It’s not a binary thing.”
Email is far from dead. In fact, the Radicati Group Inc. — a research firm that monitors both collaboration and messaging technology — predicts that 215.3 billion emails will be sent each day before 2016 ends. That figure is anticipated to grow 5% each year through the year 2020.
The transition to Office 365 gives Facebook the ability to utilize Microsoft’s Delve service, which helps employees find internal reports and relevant news more efficiently.
Many people may not be aware that in 2007, Microsoft invested $240 million into Facebook. When asked whether it still retains that stake, representatives for Microsoft declined to give a response stating that it was unrelated to their previous investment.
