Meta shuts down Workplace! Both apps, Workplace and Workplace chat, are set to close for the public next year, following an official announcement by the social media giant. The breaking news were also posted on Workplace’s official website workplace.com
What is Workplace?
If you’re not familiar with Workplace, take it as the professional version of Facebook. It’s positioned as a business communication platform, combining work chat and video conferencing together with Intranet access and other handy features. And the 2 separate apps, Workplace and Workplace Chat, were designed to allow co-workers to stay connected on the move.
WHY is Meta CLOSING Workplace?
Workplace was originally created only as an internal communication platform for Facebook’s employees. However, in 2016 is was repurposed as an external cloud software, following the success of the work platform Slack, created 3 years earlier. And a year after Workplace’s redesign, Microsoft Teams was launched too.
During the pandemic, business communication platforms naturally saw a huge rise in demand. Workplace also reported a steady 40% year-on-year increase in paid subscriptions, peaking at 7 million users in May 2021.
So, why is Meta chopping off its work productivity branch?
The official statement about the stutdown of Workplace is that the corporation has decided to focus on its AI projects instead. Still, no company would close down a profitable division. And the HARSH COMPETITION against Slack, bought by Salesforce in 2020, the ubiquitous Google and the mighty Microsoft, is believed to be the main reason behind Meta’s final decision.
Top Workplace Alternatives:
- WORKVIVO by Zoom – Meta’s official migration partner. Founded in the same year as Microsoft Teams, the “employee experience platform” boasts clients like Amazon! And it’s been chosen as the only recommended migration partner for the existing customers of Workplace.
- Microsoft Teams and Yammer (Viva Engage)
- Google Workspace and Google Meet
- Slack by Salesforce
- GoTo (Go To Meeting)
- ClickUp
- Happeo
Not the Last Goodbye
On a positive note, Meta has stated that its employees will continue to use Workplace in-house after the closure! For everyone else, Workplace will be discontinued in September 2025. And it will be available in ‘read-only’ format until the end of May 2026.
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