A version of Facebook tailored for businesses collaboration on Thursday announced that it has more than 2 million paying subscribers.
“Workplace by Facebook” is an enterprise-oriented version of the social network that, instead of distracting workers, lets them connect and collaborate.
The software-as-a-service business began as an internal collaboration platform used at Facebook and was launched as a separate business in 2016.
Workplace by Facebook head Karandeep Anand said that it went from no paid subscribers to more than 2 million in 16 months.
Facebook Inc late last year hosted its first global summit spotlighting a growing Workplace platform launched as a private social network for businesses.
Workplace rivals include collaboration services from Slack Technologies Inc, Salesforce.com Inc and Microsoft Corp.
The list of companies using Workplace include Starbucks Corp, Nestle SA, Vodafone Group PLC, Telefonica SA and Delta Airlines Inc, Facebook said.
Workplace is a separate operation from Facebook’s main social network and is intended as a platform to connect everyone in a company, from counter or warehouse workers to chief executives, Workplace by Facebook vice president Julien Codorniou said.
Anand this week said in a briefing that the main Facebook social network, which has been embroiled in controversies over data protection, has “no visibility” into Workplace data.
Facebook’s core social networking service, supported by targeted advertising rather than subscriptions, has been battered by criticism and controversy regarding how well it safeguards user data and privacy.
Workplace claimed that a differentiator from its competitors is that it connects all employees in businesses regardless of their roles, even if their only computing device is a smartphone.
“That really resonates with a new generation,” Codorniou said. “Millennials want to know who they work for and understand the culture of the company.”
Workplace is rolled out to everyone in companies, which then pay US$3 monthly per active user.
Interaction with the platform plays off how people use Facebook, and Workplace adopts innovations from the leading social network, but it is billed as a completely separate product.
It was the first time Workplace has revealed the number of paid users and the figure did not include nonpaying customers, such as nonprofit organizations or schools.
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