Microsoft Corp. has finally unveiled its long-awaited social networking features for Office 365, with the launch of a new product called Office Delve.

We first caught a glimpse of Office Delve at Microsoft’s SharePoint conference back in March, when the tech was dubbed “Project Oslo”. At the time, Redmond’s techies said the software was designed to present Office 365 users with relevant information by using machine learning to analyze their contacts, data and activity.

One of the key aspects of Delve is “Office Graph,” which refers to a kind of map of the various sources Office 365 uses to extract data. These include email, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online and Yammer. Microsoft is planning to add more data sources in the coming months, with email attachments, Lync conversations and OneNote said to be at the top of its list.

If all this sounds a little bit familiar, that’s because it probably is. Facebook implemented its own Graph Search feature in January, 2013. That technology was developed in-house by Facebook’s own technicians, without help from its search partner Microsoft. But while Facebook’s Graph Search is designed to help commoners navigate through a world of cat memes and drunken troll posts, Microsoft’s software is specific to workplace collaboration.

“With Delve, information finds you versus you having to find information,” wrote Office 365 product manager Julia White on the Office blog.

Microsoft is eventually planning to make Delve a standard feature for all qualifying Office 365 business users at no extra charge, but it might take a while. First to test the waters will be Office 365 Enterprise, Academic and Government customers who have signed up to Redmond’s First Release program – a special program for early adopters who wish to access new features in Microsoft’s products before they reach general availability.

Next up will be Office 365 Business Essentials, Business Premium, Small Business, Small Business Premium, and Midsize Business customers who’ve signed up to the First Release program. This group of users can expect to get their teeth into Delve by January, 2015, with mainstream availability to follow a few months later.

Image credit: Microsoft Office Blogs