Facebook is set to launch the professional version of its social network in the next few months.
Facebook at Work is nearing readiness after spending a year in beta testing with specific companies.
The service will be largely identical to the existing social network, with users able to maintain distinct profiles, according to a Facebook executive interviewed in Reuters.
"I would say 95 percent of what we developed for Facebook is also adopted for Facebook at Work," said Julien Codorniou, director of global platform partnerships at Facebook.
There will be some features exclusive to the professional version, including tools for security.
The primary player in the business social networking market, LinkedIn, recently overhauled its app and site to become more Facebook-like.
The homepage news feed will now present more relevant content, and a tab called ‘My Networks’ will provide updates from LinkedIn connections.
By contrast, in changing little between the consumer and business experience, Facebook will be able to capitalise on its already widespread proliferation and general familiarity.
As well as expanding in the social network market, Facebook is continuing to invest in its operations outside of social networking and even software more generally. This week also saw the unveiling of new hardware for training neural networks, codenamed ‘Big Sur’.
