Facebook Ready To Make A Splash In The Communication Arena

Facebook announced an October 10th launch of Facebook at Work, a business communication tool meant to rival Slack. Is there any room in the marketplace for another communication tool? Is the social media king overextending and straying from its social media throne?

Facebook at Work, Communication Tool to Beat Slack

With over 1.75 billion active users, Facebook owns the social media space. The company generates $60 billion a year in advertising revenue and continues to regularly innovate new ways for users to share information. Now, Facebook is moving into a new space – communication.

Facebook at Work is an intra-office communication tool for businesses. And while it’s got a lot of appeals, there are also obstacles. Is Facebook too late to the party? Or can the social media giant use its appeal to sway the masses?

The company has invested two years into developing the communication tool and has already seen positive feedback from the 5.25 million users already beta testing the product. There’s no doubt FB has the tech capability to create a successful communication tool, but the company is entering a crowded marketplace competing against other enterprise communication tools such as Slack and Hipchat and behind them Salesforce’s chatter. There’s also Yammer from Microsoft. With such a crowded marketplace, signing up users is the biggest hurdle the company faces.

But FB has an edge.

Facebook is arguably the most recognizable brand in the world. There are already 1.75 billion active users on the social platform. And Facebook is using that advantage by creating their enterprise addition utilizing the layout and familiarity of the regular platform. The user interface, functionality, and sign-in process will all be based on Facebook’s social network. Companies and workers will be instantly familiar and comfortable with Facebook at Work, getting rid of any learning curve for employees. And as any employer will tell you, time is money. The idea here is that employees will want to communicate on Facebook at Work rather than via multiple communication channels. While similar in appearance and functionality, there is enough differences and security functionality to make Facebook at Work a separate platform.

Facebook has not revealed the cost of the service as yet, but will charge companies per active user, and has already announced companies of any size will be able to afford the service. Clients will also be able to test the service free of charge for several months before signing on as paying clients.And while there is a lot of competition in the space, Facebook is creative and adaptive enough to compete, even giving competitors a head start.

Facebook at Work launches October 10th, in London – the first time FB has launched a global product outside of the U.S. Given the company’s brand recognition, reputation, and competency, look for Facebook (FB) to not only compete in the enterprise communication space but excel in it.

Want to learn more about this new app? Watch this video from CNBC and find out!

Hungry for more latest news? Check our yesterday's news on why AT&T Acquiring time with Time Warner makes perfect sense.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more news updates!

The statements, views, and opinions of any article, contribution, editorial, or advertisement in this publication are not necessarily those of The Capitalist or its editorial staff, and are not considered an endorsement, sponsorship, or recommendation of any referenced product, service, issuer, or groups of issuers.

This publication provides general information about certain subjects, and should not be construed or taken as advice (legal, financial, investment, tax, or otherwise). Do not construe or take any information in this publication as a solicitation, offer, opinion, or recommendation to buy or sell any securities, bonds, or other financial instruments or to provide any legal, financial, investment, tax, or other advice or service about the suitability or profitability of any financial instruments or investments.

The Capitalist disclaims any liability for the accuracy of or your reliance on any statements, views, opinions, or information in this publication.