Facebook is considering launching Facebook at Work (F@W) to enter the enterprise social software market. However, this market has seen slower than expected growth. Established competitors like Slack and IBM have disrupted the market. F@W faces challenges in that it does not fit Facebook's strengths of platforms with over 1 billion users or integrative solutions. As a social network, F@W could disrupt usage of Facebook's core personal product. Alternatively, Facebook could pursue a "blue ocean" approach by keeping F@W similar to Facebook, targeting non-traditional businesses, or transitioning existing Facebook business partners to reduce risk.

1. Facebook at Work (F@W)
Launch Analysis
Michael Nguyễn
September 20, 2015

2. *Facebook.com
**Facebook focuses on platforms with 1B+ User potential, or integrative solutions
Context: Past Strategy & Execution
Facebook Poke
Our Mission
“People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover
what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them”*
Addressing Threats**:
Platforms that Change HOW People Communicate
• Facebook (Friendship Management – Core Product)
• Snapchat (Moments – Attempted Acquisition)
• Instagram (Photos - Acquisition)
• Oculus VR (Alternate Realities - Acquisition)
• WhatsApp (Mobile - Acquisition)
History: Hard to Follow Innovation
Difficulty gaining traction with competing products (ex. Poke, Slingshot,
Camera) without natural conversion from Facebook (ex. Messenger)

3. *IDC projections for enterprise social software, $4.5B projection from 2012, updated $2.3B projection from 2014
**Using Slack’s lowest fee tier of $80/yr and IDC Market Size, optimistic outlook
Enterprise Market: Growing Much Slower than Expected
Underperforming US Market: $2.3B by 2018*
• $4.5B originally projected by 2016
• Projected Users: 30 million workers**
Product Adoption Barriers
• Employee: Productivity Benefits, Usability
• CIO / Management: Data Security
• Sluggish growth suggests disconnect in value for the avg. employee
Established Competitors Affect Market Entry
• IBM (Market Leader)
• Slack ($2.8B Valuation, 200K paid users)
• Yammer (Microsoft)
• Collaboration Features in Existing Tools (Microsoft Office, Google Docs)

4. Official screenshots taken from official app listings on Google Play / iTunes
Disconnect: Value of Dog Updates (Social Networking)
Slack
• Streamlined Work Updates
• Value in Email Reduction
• Integrated Platform
• Focus: Productivity / Chat
IBM Connections
• Status Updates
• Mixing personal content
into workplace
• Focus: Social Network
Adoption: where will the average
employee find value?

5. Official screenshots taken from official app listings on Google Play / iTunes
F@W Could Disrupt Usage of the Core Product
F@W is a Social Network not a Productivity Tool
• Emphasis on News Feed / Likes encourage posting content that will be
popular (social network), not necessarily useful (productivity) – these
incentives may affect workplace participation and vice-versa
Could Disrupt Emotional Connection to Facebook
• Over 1 billion people use Facebook for friend management – how does
friend-focused (UX) behavior translate in a work setting?
• Can users switch mindsets easily within the same interface?
• Does this risk long-term detachment from the personal product?
Jill: “I use Facebook already, thus I
already know how to use Facebook
at Work“ (competitive advantage: UI / brand awareness)

6. *Facebook.com
Official screenshots taken from official app listings on Google Play / iTunes
F@W Does Not Fit Facebook’s Strengths and Strategies
Competing Platforms WILL NOT Change HOW
People Communicate, Limited Upside in Market
• Limited potential (30M vs 1B User Impact)
• Limited business value ($2.4B Market in 2018)
• Social Enterprise products do not change fundamental
behavior, how people communicate and share
Limited Synergies
• Facebook has no natural conversion point for Facebook at Work
(like Poke, Slingshot, Camera)
• Limited existing B2B support and sales infrastructure
F@W is a risky initiative with limited strategic value, particularly considering
existing competition and potential effects on usage of core product. Consider
BLUE OCEAN approach (next slide) to reduce risk. Alternatively, acquisition.

7. *http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/facebook-page-statistics/
Paths to a Blue Ocean Without Competition
Keep Product “As Is”
• Keep features on Facebook at Work as close as possible to Facebook to reduce
risk in product investment, divergent product paths
• Integrate existing content features into work context (Industry News though
Trending, Internal Corporate Memos and File Management through Notes, etc.)
Target Non-Traditional Businesses
• Businesses new to Enterprise Social Software (SMB’s, non-profits)
• Run workshops at undergraduate universities to introduce F@W and
business tools to increase skills among social media-savvy generation
Transition Existing Facebook Partners
• Convert existing business: 41% of all US small businesses on Facebook (40 Million
Small Businesses on FB total)*
• Integrate Facebook for Business / Page Manager into F@W to ease interorganizational
information sharing – offered free to businesses that reach ad spend threshold