Meta is shutting down its Slack competitor “Workplace” — and here’s why

As Meta continues its shift towards synthetic intelligence and the Metaverse, the corporate will inevitably retire numerous merchandise and options.

Meta has now confirmed it is going to shut down one in all its merchandise: Office, a personal social networking platform for firms. First up is TechCrunch report Meta additionally confirmed the information on Tuesday.

“We’re discontinuing Office in Meta so we are able to concentrate on constructing AI and Metaverse applied sciences that we consider will essentially reshape the way in which we work,” a Meta spokesperson mentioned in a press release. Over the following two years, we are going to supply Office clients the choice to transition to Zoom’s Workvivo product, Meta’s solely most well-liked migration associate.”

What’s a office?

Office is a competitor to Slack or Microsoft Groups, so there are different comparable choices for firms wanting to make use of suitable companies. Nevertheless, Office basically mimics the texture of Fb, giving the corporate an interactive platform akin to a personal social community that different options cannot supply.

In accordance with Meta, Office will proceed to function as is till August 2025. By the top of Might 2026, practically two years later, Office might be fully shut down and all content material might be deleted.

When Office closes, it is going to mark 10 years of operation for the product. The product launched in 2016 and was initially referred to as Fb at Work. 2021, Yuan declare Office has 7 million paying customers. Nevertheless, TechCrunch experiences that Office has struggled in recent times as a result of the product now not suits the corporate’s route, which is targeted on synthetic intelligence and the Metaverse.

Firms which have used Office for years might have a number of knowledge saved on the platform, which they could wish to retain. This appears to be the rationale why Meta introduced its closure two years upfront.