Email eradication
One of the things that Facebook at Work does eliminate is email, which is the bane of many people's lives. According to Hanley, "[e]mail, in our experience, is hierarchical [and] tends to be used for broadcasting, for cascading information [rather than] for discussion or feedback."
As everyone knows, email sucks for every task that doesn't need to be documented forever and this has driven the rise of Slack, among other messaging apps, because they work just like the apps people use in their everyday lives.
On this point, Facebook also has an advantage in Messenger, which has over 900 million monthly active users, up from 400 million two years ago. The software bundled with Facebook at Work is just like Messenger because, well, it is Messenger, just with colleagues rather than friends or your mum.
"It's a different way of using Facebook," said Jayenne Montana, a marketing manager at Landmark Group. "It's a great boost to communication and productivity."
Facebook the company has recently been on a streak. The last earnings report, which captured the three months leading up to April, sent the stock soaring as the company reported 1.6 billion monthly active users, almost all of which are on mobile.
The company's other properties, like Instagram, are also growing rapidly, although it's unclear if Facebook at Work will ever get the benefit of breakfast-time photos.
Security reassurances
The social network has also released a white paper which aims to reassure businesses that Facebook at Work is safe to use in terms of security.
The document, which covers everything anyone could want to know, shows the level of commitment which has been put into getting Facebook at Work off the ground. This isn't just a side-project, it's something that is at the core of what Facebook does.
"We have dozens of teams working around the clock to keep your information safe," the company says. "Your connection to Facebook is protected with the same kind of strong encryption technology that banks use to keep financial data secure."
Adoption of the platform, which has been available for a little under a year, is accelerating as more and more companies try it out, according to one person at Facebook, who requested anonymity because the details are not public. It's unclear how many will stay, but users are definitely enjoying it.
As Val-Pierre Genton, VP of Audience at BrightTALK, commented, Facebook at Work "makes our global teams feel more united and closer," and that's all the company wants.
