Facebook at Work, Facebook’s professional version of its existing social network, will launch in the next few months after a year in the test phase, the company says.
The service provides workplace collaboration tools, but is almost identical to its current social network with scrolling news feeds, likes, and a chat system.
Facebook at Work for business users
“I would say 95 percent of what we developed for Facebook is also adopted for Facebook at Work,” said Julien Codorniou, director of global platform partnerships at Facebook.
Facebook at Work users will however have special profiles that are completely separate from their current Facebook profiles. The company is also working on exclusives for Facebook at Work, such as new security tools.
Facebook started testing the service in January 2015, a free, invite-only service for companies. The new product will be open to all companies when it launches and Facebook says it will charge a small amount per month per user.
The sector already includes the likes of LinkedIn and Monster, and is said to be worth around $6 billion per year according to IDC.
So far more than 300 companies are using Facebook at Work, including Heineken, and the Royal Bank of Scotland.
SOURCE: Reuters.
Larry Banks is a keen follower of technology and finance. He has worked for a variety of online publications, writing about a diverse range of topics including mobile networks, patents, and Internet video delivery technologies.