Microsoft Teams is making its own social network

Microsoft Teams – Do you realize what the world requires? If your response is anything other than “another social networking site” right now, you are mistaken. Microsoft, at least, believes this. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has declared plans to compete with Facebook and other social media platforms with his own. 
 
This platform, known as Viva Engage, will reside inside of Microsoft Teams and seeks to improve the functionality of retiring Yammer Communities. Microsoft According to Viva’s CVP Murali Sitaram in a blog post, Viva Engage “will be a new and expanded experience of the current Yammer Communities app for Microsoft Teams and adds new possibilities to connect people, find and share knowledge, express yourself, and find belonging at work.” 
 
Do you realize what the world requires? If your response is anything other than “another social networking site” right now, you are mistaken. Microsoft, at least, believes this. Microsoft’s CEO Satya Nadella has declared plans to compete with Facebook and other social media platforms with his own. 
 
Thanks to Viva Engage’s narrative and storytelling elements, staff members will be able to interact with one another and share “thoughts, facts, and experiences through chats, images, and videos.”

Microsoft Teams Social Media

With this platform, Microsoft hopes to provide leaders with “new tools to influence culture and align their workforce by unlocking communication and engagement opportunities.” Microsoft’s Viva Engage was developed with the hybrid work mode in mind. Additionally, it gives employees new opportunities to foster a sense of camaraderie, deepen bonds with coworkers, exchange ideas, and find solutions to problems, according to Microsoft. 
 
When Microsoft Viva Engage debuts in late August, the Communities app on Microsoft Teams will be renamed to Viva Engage and made accessible on desktop, the web, and mobile apps. 
 
Users who already use the Communities app won’t require any configuration updates from the administrator in order to integrate Viva Engage. Yammer users can deploy and pin Viva Engage to Teams’ left rail through the Teams Admin Center. Microsoft has announced that a public preview of the Viva Engage Storyline will start in late August. 
 
In Viva Engage, the same network, home feed, and communities will continue to be visible as they are in Yammer. Any content created in Yammer.com or on a mobile device, such as community discussions, storyline posts, and tales, will be seen in Viva Engage. Sitaram stated in the blog that an organization needs to have a Yammer license in order to use Viva Engage, similar to how content submitted in Engage would display in native Yammer experiences.