14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already signed partnerships with a number of large companies to offer the Office 365 cloud-based productivity suite to their employees, and the software giant is very close to reaching another important deal in this direction.
Rumor has it that Microsoft and Facebook have been negotiating an agreement in the last few months, so the social network will soon make the switch to Office 365 for all its employees.
This means that approximately 13,000 Facebook workers will begin using apps such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as soon as the partnership between the two companies goes live.
Details are not available, but the aforementioned source claims that only the essential package will be deployed, and it makes sense, at least when it comes to Facebook.
Facebook employees won’t be able to use Yammer
For example, Office 365 apps will be available for Facebook employees with apps such Word and Excel, but on the other hand, Yammer, Redmond’s very own business social network won’t be offered. Yammer is considered a business-oriented social network, so it wouldn’t really make sense for Facebook to offer this service to its employees.
On the other hand, Facebook is particularly interested in email services, with Tim Campos, the company’s chief information officer, explaining that, despite Facebook at Work, email continues to be an important means of communication.
“Facebook at Work doesn’t end the need for email,” Campos was quoted as saying. “It’s not a binary thing.”
An official announcement from Facebook and Microsoft that would include more details is expected in the coming hours, according to the aforementioned source. Without a doubt, however, this is an important win for Microsoft, as the company is trying to sign more companies for its cloud services, and Facebook is clearly one of the biggest names so far that agreed to make the switch to Office 365.