Facebook has signed a deal with Microsoft which will let employees use Office 365 for internal collaboration. This deal is being regarded as one of the most high-profile for Microsoft in the recent times.

This deal will enable Facebook’s 13,000 employees to have access to Microsoft Office 365 web-based email and calendar services. Until now, Facebook was using on-premise Exchange-based solution and is currently shifting towards cloud services.

Access will be restricted to other services from Office 365 including Skype and Yammer, which compete directly with Facebook’s own services including Facebook for Work and Facebook Messenger.

According to Facebook, email is ‘inherently top-down’ in comparison to the collaborative nature of its own services such as Facebook at Work, a workplace version of its social network platform.

Facebook at Work was introduced last year and it allows Facebook employees to send and receive information and content across the familiar web user interface. Facebook at Work is equipped with security and administration features for corporate technology managers.

Facebook chief information officer Tim Campos, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal said that Facebook at Work will be used internally, but email still has its place.

Campos added that Facebook at Work does not end the need for email and that it is not a binary thing.

According to Radicati Group, the use of email will reach up to an estimated level of 215.3 billion emails being sent by the end of 2016 with a 5% increase annually through 2020.

Microsoft Office 365 client applications corporate vice president Kirk Koenigsbauer told the publication that email will retain its position. Its use has, however, evolved. Today’s companies use social network-like platforms for communication, brainstorming, annotate documents and to keep tab on projects.

Email, however, is still used as a formal way to communication with vendors, job recruits and other outside of organisations, where a formal code of conduct is required.

On the other hand, using Microsoft Office 365 can help employees of Facebook with Microsoft’s Delve service.
Delve helps in locating relevant data such as internal reports and news to employees based on their jobs.