Facebook recently took to the stage at its "F8 Developer's Conference", to reveal the latest updates that businesses could expect from Workplace. For those who don't know, Workplace by Facebook is the business version of the already-popular social media website. The latest announcements were made regarding integrations for cloud, bots, and security, as well as the development of a new "Workplace Life" API which supports RTMP streaming.
Facebook further announced that Workplace is now running on every continent, including Antarctica, with connections to over 14,000 organisations. Those numbers might seem large, but when you compare them to Slack, they might be a little less impressive. Here, we'll take a look at the latest updates to Facebook Workplace, and how they could make the service a real competitor in the collaboration market.
What is Facebook Adding to Workplace?
Workplace is simply a Facebook app that looks and feels much like the consumer version. As a collaboration tool, the service didn't have much to offer besides a familiar interface, but all of that has changed with F8 2017, with new integrations to make the tool simpler, and more effective for enterprises.
The four new features announced at F8 were:
- The new Workplace Live API. Designed on the Facebook Live API, this service adds RTMP to Workplace. It's ready to use with a range of video encoders, including Teradek, Elemental and Black Magic.
- Identity providers G Suite, Microsoft Azure, Okta and OneLogin have been introduced. Workplace will also be integrating with security and compliance providers Skyhigh, Netskope, Smarsh and CSDisco.
- Chatbots. They have become increasingly popular in the workplace for a range of reasons. Facebook has programmed a range of their own bots for Workplace, and is now adding support for Converse, Avaamo, Kore.ai, TheBotPlatform and Pullstring.
- Integrations. Taking place with some of the top collaboration tools, including OneDrive, Box, G Suite, Salesforce and Office 365, along with some new interfaces for checking files within Workplace.
How Does Workplace Growth Look?
For some, Workplace is still largely unheard of. That makes the growth numbers reported at F8, like 400,00 collaborative groups and 14,000 organisations become even more impressive. It's clear to see that Facebook Workplace is evolving, and doing so at a reasonable pace. However, it hasn't quite caught up to the leaders just yet.
