Convo vs Yammer

May 25, 2023 | Author: Adam Levine
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Convo
The private enterprise social network for real-time collaboration. Stay connected to your team and projects via this next-generation social business tool. With Convo Chat on mobile, start your morning catch up while you're on the train, or walking to work and continue the conversation on your desktop at work.
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Yammer
Yammer is revolutionizing internal corporate communications by bringing together all of a company’s employees inside a private and secure enterprise social network. Although Yammer is as easy to use as alternative consumer products like Facebook or Twitter, it is enterprise-class software built from the ground up to drive business objectives.
Convo and Yammer are two popular enterprise social networking platforms that facilitate communication and collaboration within organizations. Convo offers a centralized platform that combines features like chat, file sharing, task management, and knowledge sharing. It emphasizes real-time communication and team collaboration, making it suitable for organizations seeking a robust internal communication tool. Yammer, on the other hand, is designed to foster social collaboration and knowledge sharing across the entire organization. It provides a social networking experience with features such as news feeds, groups, and user profiles, encouraging employees to connect and share information. Yammer is particularly well-suited for larger organizations looking to promote cross-departmental communication and knowledge exchange.

See also: Top 10 Enterprise Social Software
Convo vs Yammer in our news:

2017. Microsoft retires Yammer as stand-alone service



Microsoft has made the decision to replace the standalone enterprise social network Yammer in favor of achieving more extensive integration with Office 365 services. In the previous year, Microsoft made Yammer the default option for all eligible Office 365 customers, resulting in the majority of Yammer users utilizing it as part of their Office 365 subscription. Going forward, new customers interested in using Yammer will be required to sign up for an eligible Office 365 plan. In an official notice regarding Yammer, Microsoft stated its objective of "strengthening Yammer integration" with various collaboration tools within Office 365, including SharePoint, OneNote, and Planner.


2016. Yammer now allows to create External groups



Microsoft has introduced a new feature called external groups in Yammer, facilitating collaboration with individuals outside your organization. This feature enables the inclusion of external team members in a Yammer group, simplifying teamwork for extended teams. With external groups, team members from outside your company, who have the appropriate permissions, can actively participate in projects and initiatives by accessing all the group's conversations and content. This capability enhances existing methods of collaboration with external individuals, such as external networks and external messaging. These options allow you to directly add individuals from outside your organization to a thread within your organization's Yammer network.


2015. Enterprise social network Convo released new mobile apps



A week following the launch of its new web and Mac desktop applications, the collaboration service Convo is now introducing updated versions of its mobile apps. The mobile apps have undergone a redesign to align with the refreshed appearance of the desktop apps. Notable enhancements include an instant search feature that displays results in real-time as you type, improved sharing capabilities, and a new in-app notification center. CEO Faizan Buzdar has expressed that these relaunches signify a complete rebuilding of Convo "from the ground up" and that the company intends to extend these changes across all its platforms.


2015. Collaboration service Convo unveiled new Web and Mac apps



Real-time collaboration service Convo has introduced a revamped web application and a new desktop application for Mac. Although the user interface may appear similar to existing users, the underlying infrastructure has undergone significant changes. Notably, the speed of notifications and updates has reportedly been enhanced by threefold. Additionally, the web application no longer relies on Adobe's Flash or AIR technology, resulting in improved performance and security. The update also introduces an expanded range of integrations, enabling users to automatically share content from popular services such as Gmail, Salesforce, and Twitter. Previously, Convo supported integrations through its API, but now the company has independently developed 200 integrations. To facilitate this, Convo leveraged the capabilities of web automation service Zapier, requiring users to have a Zapier account to utilize the integrations. Similar updates are expected to be implemented in the Convo Windows application in the near future.


2014. Enterprise social network Convo adds chat to iPhone and Android



Finally, Convo, the enterprise social network, has introduced mobile chat functionality, expanding beyond its desktop and web applications. Today, the company is launching a new version of its iOS and Android app, bringing real-time chat capabilities to users even when they are away from their desks. The redesigned Convo Chat aligns with the expectations of an enterprise chat solution. This enhanced offering is now available across web, desktop, and major mobile platforms, assuring users of message security and seamless synchronization across devices. Regardless of whether you're using the desktop or mobile version, you can trust that your messages will be logged and accessible within the chat interface.


2014. Yammer adds conversations to OneDrive and SharePoint Online files


Today, Microsoft has introduced a new social feature for Office 365 called document conversations. This feature integrates the collaborative capabilities of Yammer directly into the Office apps. Here's how document conversations work: when you access a file in your browser from your cloud storage, you will see the file displayed on the left side, accompanied by a contextual Yammer conversation pane on the right. The Yammer pane can be expanded or collapsed according to your needs. In addition to joining conversations from the Yammer pane, you can also post messages, @mention your coworkers, and publish to a Yammer group, whether it's public or private. Since it's powered by Yammer, you can also view and participate in discussions beyond the scope of the document, using your mobile device, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, or any other application where a Yammer feed is embedded. Document conversations are being gradually rolled out to customers throughout the summer and will eventually be available across all sites within a tenant.


2014. Convo adds GIF and in-stream Doc support



Convo, a social platform designed to facilitate real-time messaging and communication within a company, has introduced new features such as GIF support and significantly enhanced document functionality. Users now have the ability to highlight and annotate specific sections of the documents they upload to Convo. Furthermore, they can view complete files directly within the app and link to cloud-based files using platforms like Dropbox and Box. The overall performance of the app has also been improved, reducing the time it takes for users to view images and files across both desktop and mobile applications. Convo competes with other enterprise social networks such as Yammer, Slack, Hipchat, and others, offering extensive real-time and mobile capabilities.


2013. Microsoft social networks: Yammer vs SharePoint Newsfeed



Last year, when Microsoft acquired Yammer (the service for building enterprise social networks), it already had own the own social network based on SharePoint (now it's called SharePoint Newsfeed). And that's OK, because Microsoft bought Yammer not for the engine, but for the customer base and the image of  social vendor. But now, it seems, Microsoft doesn't know what to do with two almost identical solutions. In June, Office 365 users got the opportunity to replace SharePoint Newsfeed to Yammer, and Microsoft continues to insist that Yammer - is its future and that soon Yammer will become the platform for all its business apps. But on the other hand SharePoint Newsfeed also continues to evolve. For example, today SharePoint Newsfeed app for Windows 8 has been launched. And it's very similar to Yammer app for Windows (guess where is what on the screenshots). ***


2013. Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online adds iPad, Yammer support



Recently Terrasoft released mobile (iOS and Android) apps for its BPMonline CRM, and may be it remembered to Microsoft that the users of its CRM system also want to have a normal mobile access to customer data. Microsoft promised to release the mobile client for Microsoft Dynamics CRM back in May 2012, then at the end of the last year, then by February 2013. It's now March and Microsoft has really launched something. But it's not a full-fledged mobile app, but just a web interface for the iPad browser, which of course, can't work offline and has many limitations. When the normal mobile CRM app will appear? Microsoft promises "in the first half of this year." ***


2012. SharePoint 2013 will integrate Yammer, provide platform around the online version



At the  SharePoint Conference 2012 Microsoft revealed some new facts about the upcoming SharePoint 2013. But nothing specific has been announced - just few promises. The exact release date is also still unknown. Microsoft's corporate vice president of the Office Division Kris Koenigsbauer promises a launch during the first fiscal quarter of 2013, which falls between October 1, 2012 and December 31, 2012. Now about the Yammer. As expected, Microsoft will integrate this social intranet service (acquired in June) into SharePoint. The integration will be done via Yammer Web Parts and Yammer Open Graph. Got it? And soon (Microsoft says) SharePoint will become a system "powered by Yammer". Ok, let's look what is the real sense of integration between SharePoint and Yammer. ***

Author: Adam Levine
Adam is an expert in project management, collaboration and productivity technologies, team management, and motivation. With an extensive background working at prestigious companies such as Microsoft and Accenture, Adam's in-depth knowledge and experience in the field make him a sought-after professional. Currently, he has ventured into entrepreneurship, owning a thriving consulting and training agency where he imparts invaluable insights and practical strategies to individuals and organizations, empowering them to achieve their goals and maximize their potential. You can contact Adam via email adam@liventerprise.com