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AR is Meta’s Future, Facebook Workplace is Gone: Which Communication Tools Can Replace It?

Oct 27, 2024

James Dean

AR is Meta’s Future, Facebook Workplace is Gone: Which Communication Tools Can Replace It?
AR is Meta’s Future, Facebook Workplace is Gone: Which Communication Tools Can Replace It?

For many businesses, Facebook Workplace was a go-to solution for fostering communication and collaboration among employees. It allowed teams to create groups, share updates, and maintain a social media-like experience within their organization. However, Meta recently announced that it is officially shutting down Facebook Workplace, leaving many organizations asking the question: What now?

In this blog, we’ll dive into the new reasons behind Workplace’s closure, what it means for your business, and explore some viable alternatives to ensure a seamless transition for your team.

The End of Facebook Workplace: Why Is It Shutting Down?

Meta’s decision to shutter Facebook Workplace is rooted in a strategic shift. The company is now focusing its resources on the development of AI and metaverse technologies, areas they believe will reshape how businesses function in the future. At the latest Meta event in 2024, the company unveiled their AR glasses, Orion, signaling a major leap toward augmented reality in both personal and professional settings. These AR glasses are designed to integrate with Meta’s metaverse ambitions, offering real-time overlays, immersive virtual meetings, and advanced AI-driven features that promise to transform communication and collaboration in the workplace.

While Facebook Workplace once held promise as a solution for enterprise communication, Meta’s priorities have shifted away from this venture as it pushes to lead in the AR and metaverse space. The closure of Workplace allows Meta to focus its efforts on developing products like Orion that they believe will have a more significant impact on the future of work.

Workplace initially launched in 2016 and quickly gained traction as a tool that blended the familiarity of Facebook with the unique needs of enterprise communication. However, in the competitive landscape that includes Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Google Chat, Workplace struggled to maintain a foothold. The pandemic, which drove widespread remote work adoption, was both a boost and a challenge for Workplace. Though the need for digital communication skyrocketed, platforms like Slack and Teams became the preferred choices for many businesses due to their rich feature sets and seamless integrations.

As of September 2025, Workplace will move to a read-only mode, and by May 2026, the platform will be completely decommissioned. Meta is encouraging its customers to consider other solutions in the market that provides a engagement and communication software solution, just like Workplace.

What Does This Mean for Your Business?

If your company relied on Facebook Workplace for internal communication, the upcoming closure means that it’s time to start planning for a transition. The question is, what alternative will best fit your organization’s needs?

It’s essential to understand what features your business uses most on Workplace—whether it’s groups, real-time chat, document sharing, or employee engagement tools—and find a new platform that can match or exceed those capabilities. If your team was using Workplace’s news feed feature to keep employees updated or relied on its groups for collaboration, the alternative solution must offer similar tools.

Exploring the Best Alternatives to Facebook Workplace

With Facebook Workplace closing, there are several robust platforms available that can serve as replacements, offering a wide array of features that may even surpass what Workplace provided.

1. Pebb: A Free and Comprehensive Communication Hub

One of the best alternatives to Facebook Workplace is Pebb, a platform designed for communication and engagement across teams. Our solution goes beyond the basic features of chat and groups, offering tools that help organizations foster a sense of community while streamlining communication and collaboration.

Key Features:

  • Real-Time News Feed: Similar to Workplace’s news feed, Pebb’s real-time feed allows employees to stay informed on company announcements, updates, and achievements. It’s an ideal tool for keeping everyone in the loop, especially in larger organizations or remote teams.

  • Dynamic Employee Profiles: The reach employee profile goes beyond just contact details. Each profile includes the employee’s role, department, manager, and a history of their contributions to the company, making it easier to collaborate across teams.

  • Clubs for Collaboration: Pebb’s clubs serve the same purpose as Workplace’s groups, allowing teams to create focused spaces for project discussions, departments, or specific initiatives.

  • Knowledge Library: One of Pebb’s standout features is its knowledge library, a central repository for important documents, training materials, and company resources. This ensures that employees can easily access the information they need without having to search through multiple platforms.

  • Instant Messaging and Voice Calls: We provide a seamless chat and voice call functionalities, enabling real-time communication without the need for additional third-party tools.

Why Pebb Stands Out:

Unlike Workplace or any other solution in the market, Pebb is free Workplace alternative for organizations of any size, offering a feature-rich platform without the steep costs associated with some other alternatives. It’s also designed to grow with your business, providing flexibility as your team expands or adopts new workflows.

If you’re looking for a platform that offers both the familiarity of Workplace and the added benefits of community-building and knowledge sharing, Pebb is an ideal choice.


2. Slack: A Powerful Communication Tool with Limitations

For teams that rely heavily on real-time messaging and collaboration, Slack is another popular alternative to Facebook Workplace. Known for its easy-to-use interface and extensive app integrations, Slack has been the go-to choice for many organizations over the past decade.

Key Features:

  • Channels for Team Collaboration: Much like Workplace’s groups, Slack’s channels allow teams to organize discussions by project, department, or specific topics. Channels can be public or private, depending on the needs of your team.

  • App Integrations: One of Slack’s key strengths is its ability to integrate with a wide range of apps, from project management tools like Trello to file storage systems like Google Drive and Dropbox.

  • Instant Messaging: Slack excels in real-time messaging, with the ability to create direct messages, group chats, and threaded discussions within channels.

Downsides:

Despite its strengths, Slack’s free plan comes with limitations, including limited message history (90 days) and 5 GB of file storage. Additionally, recent concerns about Slack’s AI security practices—with reports suggesting that customer data may have been used to train AI models—have led some businesses to reconsider using the platform.

If your team needs extensive integrations and quick, real-time communication, Slack could be a suitable replacement for Workplace, but it may require upgrading to a paid plan for full functionality.


3. Microsoft Teams: Seamless Integration for Office 365 Users

If your organization is already using Microsoft 365, Microsoft Teams could be a natural replacement for Facebook Workplace. Teams offers robust communication tools, from chat to video conferencing, and integrates seamlessly with Microsoft’s productivity apps like Word, Excel, and OneDrive.

Key Features:

  • Channels and Chat: Microsoft Teams provides channels for organizing discussions by team or project, similar to Workplace’s groups. Teams also offers direct messaging and group chats for real-time communication.

  • Video Conferencing and Meetings: Teams shines in its video conferencing capabilities, making it a great choice for organizations that need both chat and virtual meetings in one platform.

  • Integration with Microsoft 365: One of the major advantages of Teams is its deep integration with Microsoft’s suite of tools. This makes collaboration on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations seamless, as everything can be done within the Teams platform.

Downsides:

While Teams is feature-rich, its interface can be overwhelming for new users, and the platform’s free plan has some storage limitations. However, for organizations already embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem, Teams offers a convenient and powerful solution.


4. Workvivo: Meta’s Preferred Migration Partner

As part of the transition plan, Meta has recommended Workvivo as its preferred alternative to Facebook Workplace. Acquired by Zoom in 2023, Workvivo is a workplace communication platform that focuses heavily on employee engagement and company culture.

Key Features:

  • Activity Feed: Similar to Workplace’s news feed, Workvivo’s activity feed keeps employees updated on company news, achievements, and announcements, fostering a sense of community.

  • Employee Recognition: Workvivo includes built-in tools for employee recognition, allowing teams to give shout-outs, celebrate milestones, and promote positive engagement across the organization.

  • Integration with Zoom: Since being acquired by Zoom, Workvivo has developed strong integration with Zoom’s video conferencing tools, making it a good option for teams that rely heavily on virtual meetings.

Downsides:

While Workvivo offers excellent engagement features, it may lack some of the deeper collaboration tools found in Slack or Teams, such as threaded discussions or extensive app integrations.

If your organization values employee engagement and culture, Workvivo could be a great fit, especially with its Zoom integration for virtual meetings.

Final Thoughts: Where Do You Go From Here?

The closure of Facebook Workplace may feel like a major shift, but it also presents an opportunity for your team to explore new tools that could offer more robust features, better integrations, and even improved employee engagement. Whether you choose a free solution like Pebb, or opt for a more established platform like Slack or Microsoft Teams, the key is to find a tool that aligns with your team’s needs and workflows.

What does your team need most from a communication platform? By assessing your current requirements and future goals, you can ensure that your transition from Facebook Workplace is smooth, seamless, and sets your organization up for long-term success.

Join teams from 24 countries

Simplify Communication

Drive Workforce Engagement

Pebb replaces outdated, costly internal tools like intranet, chat, calls, knowledge libraries, and people directories with a modern, intuitive digital space that frontline and office employees love.

A leading enterprise communication platform designed to keep employees engaged, connected, and motivated.

© 2024 pebb.io

8 The Green, Dover, DE 19901, US

Join teams from 24 countries

Simplify Communication

Drive Workforce Engagement

Pebb replaces outdated, costly internal tools like intranet, chat, calls, knowledge libraries, and people directories with a modern, intuitive digital space that frontline and office employees love.

A leading enterprise communication platform designed to keep employees engaged, connected, and motivated.

© 2024 pebb.io

8 The Green, Dover, DE 19901, US

Join teams from 24 countries

Simplify Communication

Drive Workforce Engagement

Pebb replaces outdated, costly internal tools like intranet, chat, calls, knowledge libraries, and people directories with a modern, intuitive digital space that frontline and office employees love.

A leading enterprise communication platform designed to keep employees engaged, connected, and motivated.

© 2024 pebb.io
8 The Green, Dover, DE 19901, US