Microsoft Teams vs. Workplace by Facebook – The Collab Quandary

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Microsoft Teams Vs Workplace by Facebook
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Published: June 28, 2019

Rebekah Carter - Writer

Rebekah Carter

We’re living in an era where collaboration is both more critical and more challenging than ever. Companies know that their teams need to work cohesively together if they want to thrive. However, as remote working and mobile staff become more common, it can be challenging to ensure that disparate people remain on the same page.

New applications that combine unified communications with the rising need for collaboration can help businesses to get more control over their front and back end. The right solution will give your employees the support they need to be efficient and productive in any environment. The question is, which application is correct for you?

As we enter the age of UC 3.0, it’s time to examine each of the leading options in the marketplace in closer details. Here’s your guide to Microsoft Teams and Workplace by Facebook.

Microsoft Teams vs. Workplace by Facebook: User Experience

The only way to get real value from any new investment is to ensure that your staff feels comfortable using your new technology. That means investing in excellent user experience. Fortunately, most vendors know that they need to put accessibility first when building a new collaborative solution.

Microsoft introduced the Teams application as a crucial component of its Office 365 productivity suite. Because countless people now use Office 365 to create and share documents around the world, the Teams solution feels like a natural extension of their existing workflow. Microsoft Teams comes with the option to access dial-in numbers from more than 400 global cities. What’s more, your users can access their Teams experience when they’re on-the-go from smartphone devices.

Microsoft Teams users even have the option to explore additional hardware available from leading vendors to improve their UC experience. Microsoft has strong relationships with companies offering everything from desk phones, to huddle room solutions. All that, and there’s a free tier so you can try before you buy.

  • Try-before-you-buy free tier
  • Integrations with the Office 365 productivity suite
  • Integrations with countless great tools
  • Easy-to-use UI for collaboration
  • Access from any device
  • Dial-in number around the world

Workplace by Facebook is another excellent example of a tool that puts usability first. As the most popular social media channel in the world, there’s a good chance that some of your staff members already have an account with Facebook. Using Workplace by Facebook feels very similar, with access to things like instant communication via real-time messaging, live video streaming, and even news feeds.

Workplace by Facebook conveniently connects with the apps you already use in the workplace, such as Office 365 and Box, so you can access everything you need from the same environment. Additionally, the software behind Workplace by Facebook is designed to learn and get more intelligent; the more you use it. You can get real-time responses in chat, use machine learning to make your alerts more relevant, and more.

What’s more, Facebook delivers its business apps via any device through specialist apps for your smartphones and tablets.

  • Access from any device
  • Feels just like using the consumer Facebook
  • Machine learning so your experience gets better over time
  • Integrations with your favourite tools
  • Excellent one-click video calling

Microsoft Teams vs. Workplace by Facebook: Team Experience

Both Workplace by Facebook and Microsoft Teams are designed to get workforces working together more effectively. No matter where your team members are or what they’re doing, these tools will give them access to both knowledge, and co-workers.

A crucial part of the Office 365 environment, Microsoft Teams, aligns with all the productivity tools that your employees use each day, including email, excel spreadsheets, and even PowerPoints. You can launch meetings directly from your calendar and switch from instant chat to video chat within a matter of seconds. Whether you’re looking for direct messaging or phone conversations, Microsoft Teams has you covered.

To make team collaboration more productive, Microsoft has also invested in various partnerships with leading hardware vendors too. That means that you can build out your conferencing experience with everything from the Microsoft Surface, to leading IP phones and headsets.

  • Integrations with Microsoft and third-party tools
  • Instant messaging and group chat
  • File sharing and real-time editing
  • Collaboration with leading hardware vendors
  • Easy meeting acceleration

As experts in social media connections, Facebook knows how complicated it can be to bring people together on the same page. That’s why you can do everything from sharing live video, to automatically sharing information via newsfeeds to keep your people connected. Businesses can create private spaces where teams can collaborate on projects via file sharing and live video. There’s also cutting-edge AI built into the newsfeed to make sure that the right people get the right messages.

Businesses can make sure that their team members are engaged by running polls and surveys. Additionally, there’s the option to built-in bots and intelligent services like Safety Check so that you’re never too far from any member of your team. One particularly impressive feature from Workplace by Facebook is the integration of auto-translation so that people from different countries can still communicate across geographic boundaries.

  • Support for 46 languages in auto translate
  • Safety check to find people quickly
  • File sharing and live video
  • Instant chat, group chat, and notifications
  • Video conferencing
  • Machine learning news feed

Microsoft Teams vs. Workplace by Facebook: Customer Experience

To create a truly unified communication environment, it’s essential to combine the back-end discussions in your workforce with the front-end conversations with customers. Many vendors are beginning to realise this, which means that they’re building contact centre tools into their collaboration environments.

For example, Microsoft recently built on their Teams experience by implementing calling plans and direct routing options into their app. These solutions ensure that companies can add Microsoft Teams to their complete calling strategy, managing both front-end and back-end discussions in the same environment. You’ll be able to manage customer conversations with call transfer, forwarding, voicemail, hold, and more.

Because Direct Routing gives you the power to extend your communication with any approved vendor, you can also tap into new features depending on what you need for your business. All the while, you get the same excellent collaboration tools on your back-end that you need to keep your teams productive and connected. The better your employees can work together, the faster they’ll be at finding resolutions for customers.

  • Direct routing to choose your own communication path
  • Microsoft Calling plans with call management features
  • Integrations with bots and helpful workflow tools
  • Collaboration for fast problem resolution on the back-end

For the time being, Facebook is more focused on the back-end relationships that your company builds, rather than the front-end conversations you have with customers. Instead of offering things like call routing and hold features, Workplace by Facebook improves the cohesion between your workforce. For instance, with Org chart, you can look up individual profiles and find the person best suited to help you solve a client issue.

Video conferencing also makes it easier to communicate with team members in real-time, getting feedback as you go, and even hosting live videos for clients and customers. You can connect with up to 50 people at a time, regardless of where they are.

Importantly, with the instant translate feature now available on Facebook, it’s also easier for companies to make sure that they’re building the best possible teams, even if that means hiring people from overseas.

  • Instant translate to communicate with anyone
  • Video chat and live stream to up to 50 people
  • Keep your teams connected with Org chart
  • Build better culture on the back-end to improve front-end performance

Microsoft Teams vs. Workplace by Facebook: Business Experience

Finally, whatever you’re investing in on behalf of your team, it’s essential to make sure that you’re getting the reliability and performance that you deserve. Fortunately for members of the Microsoft ecosystem, you’ll know that you’re getting the same quality of performance you can expect from your entire Microsoft Office 365 portfolio.

As the fastest-growing and most popular tool in the Microsoft ecosystem, Teams offers an exceptional level of performance, to keep your teams running correctly at all times. Additionally, when it comes to security and privacy, Microsoft makes sure you’re covered by adhering to the latest industry standards. Microsoft even has ISO 27001, SOC 1 and 2, and HIPAA compliance certificates for its tools. With excellent end-to-end encryption and complete control for your Microsoft admins, you can make sure that your teams are secure.

Additionally, for people just getting started, Microsoft offers plenty of guidance, including online documentation, videos, and support for people who need help. There’s even a complete developer environment for people who want to access APIs to create the perfect integrations and processes for their business. On top of all that, Microsoft Teams comes with an available free tier, so you can test the experience before you invest.

  • End-to-end encryption
  • Industry standard compliance
  • API and developer environment
  • Support from a great customer service team
  • Free tier available

Workplace by Facebook also offers excellent business experiences from the ground up. This tool integrates with some of your favourite tools as-standard, and also comes with the option for custom integrations via APIs. Workplace service partners are even available to ensure that companies can optimise every part of their journey. Service providers help with training, IT, change management, and more.

Workplace invests in plenty of AI technology to improve your experience over time too. There’s machine learning in your news feed, and bots available to automate repetitive tasks. Additionally, Workplace adheres to the highest security standards to give you peace of mind. The Facebook app has certification for ISO 27001 and ISO 27018, as well as SOC 2 and SOC 3. Workplace even supports GDPR compliance.

Like Microsoft, Workplace also provides a free tier “Workplace Essentials” so you can test the experience.

  • API support and integrations
  • AI and machine learning tech
  • State-of-the-art certifications
  • GDPR compliance
  • Free workplace essentials tier

 

 

Artificial IntelligenceCRMMicrosoft TeamsSecurity and ComplianceUser ExperienceVideo Conferencing
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