Microsoft Teams group call on Workplace. Image: Meta
Two new integrations will see users of Workplace by Meta and Microsoft Teams be able to access video meetings and content hosted by each platform.
Users of the work app Workplace by Meta will soon be able to communicate more easily with those working on Microsoft Teams after the company formerly known as Facebook announced two new integrations.
Starting in 2022, the integrations will give Workplace users the ability to stream meetings and broadcasts hosted on Microsoft Teams into Workplace groups. They will also allow Teams users to access content from Workplace’s Facebook-like platform through an app.
The move is expected to largely benefit Workplace, which was launched by Facebook in 2016 and reached 7m paid subscribers this year. Microsoft reported in July of this year that its Teams platform had around 250m monthly active users.
Integrations such as these can make it easier for remote and hybrid working employees in the same company who use different services to communicate and collaborate.
“One thing I learned from the pandemic is that companies don’t just rely on one tool to get their work done,” said Jeff Teper, VP of product and engineering at Microsoft Teams. “So it is our responsibility as leaders in the space to make sure the tools they use integrate and interoperate with each other.”
‘Creating a bridge’
Ujjwal Singh, head of Workplace, said that customers such as Vodafone, Flight Centre Travel Group and Lockton have been trialling the Workplace integration with Teams. “They are excited by the ability to communicate with all their employees, regardless of what tool they are using,” he wrote in a blog.
Workplace already integrates with Microsoft software such as SharePoint, OneDrive and the Office 365 suite, and these new integrations with Teams bring the two companies even closer in their remote work collaboration.
“The new Teams and Workplace integration will mark another important step in our goal of fostering community and collaboration across all of our employees,” said Nick Williams, head of digital workplace at Flight Centre Travel Group.
“By creating a bridge between our company’s community hub Workplace and teamwork hub Teams, employees will be able to access the most important information, whether they’re in an office or in the field, and feel connected at all times.”
Last week, Microsoft revealed that it is bringing the metaverse concept to its Teams platform, where users will soon be able to appear as avatars in meetings or visit immersive virtual spaces using mixed-reality technology.
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