Top 10 Enterprise Social Software

Latest news about Enterprise Social Software

2023. Microsoft ditches Yammer brand and goes all-in on Viva Engage



Microsoft has officially announced the discontinuation of Yammer, the enterprise social network that it acquired over a decade ago for $1.2 billion. Despite Microsoft's previous efforts to promote Yammer by integrating it into its core Office suite, the company has shifted its focus towards developing alternative communication tools like Microsoft Teams. In 2019, Microsoft integrated Yammer with Teams, and two years later, it introduced Viva—an "employee experience platform" designed to serve as a modern corporate intranet. Over the past months, Microsoft has been actively enhancing Viva, and in the previous year, it launched Viva Engage as an evolution of the Yammer Communities app.


2022. Happeo lands $26M to provide a central intranet portal for employees



Happeo, a startup that specializes in developing intranet software to foster employee connectivity with company tools, has successfully raised $26 million in funding. Happeo's primary goal is to facilitate organic collaboration among teams and individuals by allowing them to create dedicated channels and pages centered around projects and shared interests. The platform seamlessly integrates resources and applications within a searchable home portal, offering a launcher that enables employees to access various software tools effortlessly. With Happeo's innovative "federated search" feature, users can perform comprehensive searches across multiple internal tools of their organization. Additionally, the platform serves as a centralized hub for hosting shared files and documents, while also providing seamless integration with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. On the administrative side, Happeo offers an analytics dashboard that presents key metrics such as channel, page, and post engagement, as well as search activity, including the most frequently searched keywords.

2020. Facebook’s Workplace, now with 5M paying users, adds drop-in video Rooms and more



Facebook has recently unveiled a range of new offerings for its enterprise-oriented chat and video platform, Workplace. These include Workplace versions of Rooms, a video drop-in feature similar to Houseparty, and Work Groups, which enable direct communication among colleagues in smaller groups outside of their wider circle of friends on Facebook. Notably, Workplace users will find the standout feature of Rooms particularly useful. It allows Workplace users to create links that can be accessed by others, even if they are not part of the user's Workplace group or on Facebook. This functionality resembles popular video conferencing platforms like Zoom, where a simple URL link grants entry to anyone with a camera, microphone, browser, and internet connection. Presently, Workplace boasts 5 million paying users, with millions more utilizing the platform for free.


2020. Workvivo, a platform for employee culture, raises a $16M



Workvivo, a recently established employee communications platform, has successfully secured $16 million in Series A funding. Setting itself apart from platforms like Jive or Facebook Workplace, Workvivo has adopted a unique approach to developing an internal communications platform that aims to engage and connect with employees. The platform is renowned for fostering a strong sense of community and belonging within organizations, similar to the experience one might encounter in an actively engaged Facebook group. Through its web, desktop, and mobile app interfaces, Workvivo enables employees to browse and contribute to an activity feed, as well as interact through 'liking,' sharing, and commenting, much like they would on Facebook. While existing within the same ecosystem as Slack, Workvivo excels in the aspect of cultivating organizational culture, an area where Slack falls short. Notable companies such as Netgear, TELUS International, and Cubic Telecom have joined the ranks of those utilizing Workvivo.


2020. LumApps raises $70M for its social intranet



LumApps, the cloud-based social intranet platform designed for enterprise use, has successfully secured $70 million in Series C funding. LumApps aims to enhance employee engagement, connectivity, and collaboration within organizations through its innovative "social intranet" solution. By integrating with other enterprise software such as G Suite, Microsoft Office 365, and Microsoft SharePoint, LumApps provides a centralized platform for accessing corporate content, business applications, and social features. The primary objective is to eliminate communication barriers and streamline internal information sharing across different departments, fostering a more cohesive work environment. Notable customers of LumApps include Airbus, Veolia, Valeo, Air Liquide, Colgate-Palmolive, The Economist, Schibsted, EA, Logitech, Toto, and Japan Airlines. The company prides itself on achieving impressive year-on-year revenue growth of 100%.


2019. Google launched Currents to replace Google+ for business



Google+ for consumers has ceased to exist, but it remains operational for enterprise users, now known as Currents. Similar to its previous purpose, Google+/Currents serves as a platform for employees to exchange knowledge and engage in internal discussions. This transition may also provide an opportunity for the remaining developers to move away from the unsuccessful legacy of Google+ and explore fresh endeavors. With a sole emphasis on business users, this transition should be relatively straightforward, despite the underlying codebase likely reflecting an era when Google's leadership believed social search would shape the future.


2018. Google+ for G Suite lives on and gets new features



While Google's social network Google+ is shutting down for consumers, the business version will continue to thrive and receive a host of new features. Google+ for G Suite closely resembles its consumer counterpart but places a strong emphasis on facilitating seamless information sharing among users within a company. The newly introduced features by Google offer administrators enhanced tools for post management and review, empower employees to tag content, and provide improved engagement metrics for post creators. With the introduction of tags, employees can effortlessly distribute content to all individuals within the company, regardless of their respective groups. G Suite customers who maintain their reporting structure within the service will have the ability to furnish employees with analytics, allowing them to gauge the reach of their posts across the organization and identify the teams that engage the most.


2018. Zoho Connect gets Projects integration, board templates


Zoho Connect, the social collaboration platform, has introduced integration with Zoho Projects, enabling users to seamlessly convert their conversations into actionable tasks. With this integration, you can now create new tasks in Zoho Projects directly from any of your Connect conversations and easily track their progress. Additionally, you can conveniently view and access tasks from all your Projects portals within Connect. Zoho Connect has also integrated ShowTime, enabling you to deliver presentations and training sessions effortlessly. Furthermore, the platform has introduced a new feature called board templates, which allows you to conveniently select and reuse any of your existing project boards whenever needed.


2018. Facebook Workplace gets 50 new app integrations



Facebook has expanded the capabilities of its Workplace business software by incorporating 50 additional app integrations. These integrations include popular platforms like ServiceNow, Atlassian's Jira Cloud, and Microsoft Sharepoint. Initially, Workplace offered only a few integrations such as Office 365, Salesforce, and OneDrive. With the introduction of these new integrations, Workplace is broadening its focus beyond collaboration to include automation and IT integration. Users can access these integrations through the newly introduced Workplace app discovery portal, which also features applications like SurveyMonkey, Cornerstone onDemand, Workday, and Smartsheet.


2017. Collaboration software company Jive acquired by Aurea



Community collaboration software company, Jive, has been acquired by ESW Capital's Wave Systems for a significant amount of $462 million. Following the acquisition, Jive will join the Aurea family of companies and be integrated into Aurea's customer experience management platform. This strategic move equips Aurea with a powerful tool for establishing both internal and customer-facing communities, which plays a crucial role in the contemporary customer service landscape. Furthermore, the acquisition grants Aurea access to Jive's impressive customer base, which includes prominent names like T Mobile, Schneider Electric, McAfee, and EMC. This acquisition strengthens Aurea's position by expanding its capabilities and widening its reach within the market.


2017. Facebook introduced bots into Workplace



Facebook has recently unveiled several enhancements for its Workplace team communications tool. Notably, the company is introducing bots into the Workplace experience, available in both Messenger and Group chat. This development brings Workplace on par with Slack, which has offered similar bot functionality for some time. These bots are highly capable entities that can be summoned to assist users in various ways. For example, if there is an equipment issue, users can call upon @repairbot to locate someone who can fix it. Developers have the ability to create bots for work chat and Groups, enabling them to perform tasks such as helping with food orders or arranging a Lyft ride. Additionally, Workplace now offers new integrations with Box, Microsoft, and Quip/Salesforce. This means that when a file is shared within a Facebook group, instead of merely displaying a link, a thumbnail of the file will be shown. Clicking on the thumbnail will take users directly to the file, enabling easy editing and commenting.


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. Facebook Workplace will open app store to compete with Slack



A key factor contributing to the immense popularity of the collaboration service Slack is its seamless integration with third-party business applications. This capability allows teams to effortlessly discuss new deals sourced from CRM systems, process incoming tickets from Helpdesk platforms, and include customers who communicate via Skype in their discussions. Recognizing the value of this approach, Facebook aims to emulate Slack's success by incorporating it into their enterprise social network, Workplace. To achieve this, Facebook has launched a developer platform that facilitates easy integration with other applications. These integrations will subsequently be available for users to discover and install from the Workplace app store. Presently, the network supports integration with Google's G Suite, Microsoft's cloud Active Directory, as well as single sign-on services such as Okta and OneLogin.


2016. Facebook launched enterprise social network Workplace


After two years of testing, Facebook has finally launched its enterprise version of the social network called Workplace. This platform functions as a separate entity for each company, distinct from personal Facebook accounts. Despite the separation, Workplace offers similar social tools including profiles, newsfeeds, groups, chat, live presentations, and video calls. Pricing for the service starts at $3 per user per month. This product is primarily tailored for large companies seeking to connect and collaborate among hundreds or even thousands of employees who may not be familiar with one another. While Workplace is not the first internal social network available in the market, Facebook's entry brings the potential for innovation, similar to how the iPad revolutionized the tablet industry despite not being the first of its kind. Facebook may have a unique approach or "secret ingredient" that could transform the enterprise space. For instance, if many companies adopt Workplace and Facebook introduces inter-corporate social tools, it could yield interesting and impactful outcomes.


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. Salesforce adds shopping layer to its Community Cloud



Customers of Salesforce Community Cloud will soon have the ability to incorporate their own purchase buttons. The Community Cloud empowers businesses to construct websites where customers can engage with the company and one another. For instance, Avid Technology, a provider of audio and video production tools, leverages these Community Cloud features to facilitate its Artist Community, enabling users to buy and sell sound effects, stock footage, and other music and video clips among themselves. Early adopters of this platform include Neil Young's PonoMusic and the Deloitte Digital Hub. According to Mike Stone, the senior vice president of marketing for Salesforce Community Cloud, the Customer Cloud can intelligently suggest the appropriate product that is relevant to a given conversation, using insights from the social graph and the evolving community dynamics: "We're effectively utilizing the social graph and our understanding of the community's evolution to provide these recommendations."


2015. 3 new Jive workstyle apps aim to simplify workplace collaboration



The social collaboration software Jive has introduced three new workstyle apps: Jive Daily, Jive Chime, and Jive People. Each app serves a specific purpose to enhance communication and productivity within the workplace. Jive Daily is designed to facilitate efficient communication by spreading information, driving conversations, and providing real-time analysis of communication impact. As an app, it enables employees to easily stay informed about updates, messages from company executives, and relevant company news. Jive Chime serves as a mobile communication tool, allowing users to engage in text-based or instant messaging experiences without revealing personal cell phone numbers or personal IM identities. It ensures seamless communication while maintaining privacy. Jive People introduces a company directory 2.0 with a workplace graph. It simplifies the process of finding and connecting with colleagues. When users identify the person they wish to communicate with, they can effortlessly reach out via email, phone call, or Jive Chime by simply pressing a button. Overall, these workstyle apps from Jive aim to enhance collaboration, streamline communication, and foster efficient interactions among employees within the workplace.


2014. Jive integrates with Office 365



Jive, an enterprise social collaboration provider, has developed specialized software connectors designed specifically for Microsoft Office 365. This integration encompasses various components of Office 365, including Outlook Online, Office Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business. For Jive users, this seamless integration greatly simplifies the process of creating and collaborating on documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and even email. It doesn't matter whether they are utilizing Office on-premise, in the cloud, or in a hybrid environment. As enterprises often adopt Office 365 at different rates, Jive plays a vital role in connecting and bridging these diverse systems. Acting as a central communication hub, Jive breaks down organizational silos and equips employees with the necessary tools to work effectively across different technologies and devices. Noteworthy integrations include Box, Salesforce, Cisco, and other platforms.


2014. Micro Focus buying Novell, Suse Linux owner for $1.2 billion



In a significant consolidation move, the English mainframe software provider, Micro Focus, has initiated the process of merging with Attachmate Group, the parent company of Novell and Suse Linux, in a deal valued at approximately US$1.2 billion. This merger brings together a wide range of infrastructure software under one umbrella. As a result, Micro Focus will gain access to four distinct software product portfolios: Novell (offering employee productivity, printing, and networking software), Attachmate (providing terminal emulation, legacy modernization, and managed file transfer software), Suse (specializing in Linux and Linux-based cloud software), and NetIQ (providing identity, access, and security management software). This strategic merger is a logical step as both companies are well-established enterprise software vendors with a global marketing presence and minimal product or customer overlap.


2014. Salesforce launches Community Cloud


Salesforce.com has unveiled its fourth cloud offering, known as Salesforce1 Community Cloud, following the successful introduction of Sales, Marketing, and Service Clouds. This new cloud iteration is essentially a revamped version of the Salesforce Communities product, initially launched in June 2013. Unlike Chatter, which primarily focuses on internal networking and collaboration, Community Cloud empowers customers and partners to engage with each other and with company representatives, if needed. It functions as a private LinkedIn of sorts, enabling community members to follow specific topics and individuals and identify areas of expertise. Community Cloud is seamlessly integrated with Service Cloud, enabling the escalation of unanswered or challenging questions, as well as with Sales Cloud, where new community members can be converted into leads. The features announced today are expected to be available in October. Pricing for Salesforce1 Community Cloud starts at $500 per month.


2014. Zoho Connect allows to create external networks



Zoho's enterprise social network solution, Zoho Connect, introduces a new feature called "External Networks." This feature allows businesses to extend their collaboration capabilities to partners, suppliers, agents, franchises, or contract workers. Zoho Connect's external networks function similarly to internal networks for employees, offering the same interface and tools. By utilizing external networks, businesses can tap into the collective knowledge and creativity of their partners or vendors, leading to smarter solutions. In addition, Zoho has introduced several other enhancements to Zoho Connect, including features like Chatroom, Events, Network Analytics, and Active Directory integration, all aimed at further enhancing collaboration capabilities for businesses.


2014. Zoho Connect gets hashtags



Zoho Connect, the enterprise social networking service, has introduced a new feature called Hashtags to enhance the searchability and organization of posts. The inclusion of hashtags enables users to effectively organize their news feed and effortlessly locate specific threads to stay up-to-date with the latest discussions. By utilizing hashtags, users can efficiently navigate through extensive archives of conversations within their organization. They can also perform searches and follow tagged conversations, allowing them to focus on discussions related to specific topics of interest. Additionally, users have the option to receive email notifications whenever a tag they follow is used, ensuring they stay informed and engaged with relevant conversations.


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. Bitrix24 launches inter-company social messenger



The social collaboration tool Bitrix24 is introducing a new, complimentary instant messenger called Bitrix24.Network. This messenger facilitates seamless communication and collaboration among users from various companies, similar to the concept of "Skype for business." Users can establish free collaboration workspaces with both private and group chats, as well as engage in audio and video calls. Additionally, Bitrix24.Network will soon incorporate features such as file sharing, online document editing, and other tools that are already available in Bitrix24. Furthermore, Bitrix24 has incorporated an internal email server, powered by Yandex Mail, enabling the creation of mailboxes under the domain @bitrix24.com (or any custom domain) for each employee, with the option to add business mail to the portal menu.


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.


2014. Cisco-Jive and 5 other Unified Collaboration leaders



Large enterprise customers have grown increasingly impatient, seeking a single solution that offers collaboration, social interactions, and real-time communication without the need for extensive integration projects. To meet this demand, software vendors have coined the term "Unified Collaboration" and now market their solutions under this banner. However, not every IT giant is capable of building such a comprehensive system on their own. In some cases, collaboration becomes necessary. For instance, leading unified communications provider Cisco recently partnered with social networking provider Jive, announcing that they now offer the best solution in the market. Nevertheless, industry experts highlight that Cisco faces strong competition from five key rivals: Microsoft (Yammer + Lync), IBM (IBM Connections + IBM Sametime), Citrix (GoToMeeting + Podio), Siemens (Unify + Ansible), and Salesforce (Chatter + DimDim). However, it should be noted that the latter two vendors are currently considered potential competitors, as their Unified Communications (UC) solutions are not yet fully developed.


2014. Unison - virtual rooms for collaboration and discussions



The newly introduced service, Unison, offers an intriguing amalgamation of features encompassing intranet chat, an internal social network, and video conferencing. It provides a platform to create virtual rooms where colleagues can be invited to engage in communication through activity streams, voice chats, and video chats. The sidebar displays a list of coworkers currently present in the room or online across other rooms. Personalized one-on-one conversations with coworkers are also facilitated through a chat interface akin to Gmail. Unison extends its functionality to mobile devices, allowing seamless communication and collaboration from smartphones. The service offers a free version for up to 5 users, including audio and video calls. A paid version is also available, starting at $8 per user per month. Additionally, users have the option to acquire the system as a standalone package for installation on their own server.


2013. Video: How to work remotely if you are Boss


Here it is, the ultimate dream of every executive: the ability to work effectively and manage their company from the comfort of their home or any other location outside of the office. We've previously explored telepresence systems that enable CEOs to remotely work in the office using wheeled robots, such as Anybots or Botiful, for example. However, the folks at Double Robotics (and their enthusiastic supporters at Mashable) have truly grasped the concept of the ideal robot for CEOs and how it should operate in an office setting. Take a look at this impressive video. It's worth noting that this robot is priced at $2,499, excluding the iPad, which serves as the robot's "head." But for the pleasure and convenience it offers, the cost may not be a major concern.


2013. Bitrix24 adds VoIP-webphone, live CRM stream, collaborative folders



Bitrix24, the versatile social intranet service, is launching its latest version. This new version introduces the ability to make customer calls directly from the system's web interface using a webRTC-softphone. These calls are recorded and logged in the customer profiles, and you also have the option to store call records. Bitrix24 utilizes Zingaya as its VoIP provider, offering even lower VoIP fees compared to Skype. Previously, Bitrix only allowed internal calls between colleagues within the company and relied on other desktop IP telephony applications like Skype, Lync, or others for external calls. The second new feature is the introduction of a separate activity stream in the CRM section. This stream enables real-time tracking of deals, salesperson activities, and customer interactions. Additionally, Bitrix24 Drive, the app that facilitates file synchronization between local machines and the intranet, has added a new collaboration feature. Previously, it allowed you to store all documents and files in the cloud, edit them offline, and sync changes once you connect to the internet. Now, this functionality extends to shared folders as well, enhancing collaboration within the platform.


2013. Yahoo acquired social email-plugin Xobni



Xobni team celebrating with money-boxes from Yahoo. ***