Microsoft introducing a new Facebook-like app inside Teams

On Tuesday, Microsoft is launching Viva Engage, a new Facebook-like app inside Teams that encourages social networking at work.

Viva Engage builds on some of the strengths of Yammer, promoting digital communities, conversations, and self-expression in the workplace.

While Yammer often feels like an extension of SharePoint and Office, Viva Engage looks like a replication of Facebook. It consists of a storylines section, which is effectively your Facebook news feed, featuring conversational posts, videos, images, and more.

It’s very similar to Facebook, and it’s clearly designed to feel similar so employees will use it to share news or even personal interests.

For a decade, Microsoft has been attempting towards building something similar, with its initial Yammer investment into enterprise-focused social networking surfacing the way for communities within organizations that rely on Office. Yammer integration into SharePoint, Office 365, Dynamics, and Skype felt more forced than something businesses were regularly demanding.

According to The Verge, As such, Microsoft Teams has been increasingly positioned as the hub for work and communications at Microsoft, and the pandemic has certainly sped up businesses’ transition to hybrid work and the need for apps like Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Slack.

“Teams is now the natural point where employees communicate and share for many businesses and has increasingly become its own form of a social network for many employees running Teams channels,” a source as per The Verge.