Microsoft Corp. and Meta Platforms Inc., the company previously known as Facebook, today said they have signed a partnership that will allow customers to integrate Meta’s Workplace with Microsoft Teams.

Under the deal, employees will be able to access content from Workplace within Teams. Early next year, companies will be able to stream meetings and broadcasts from Teams into Workplace.

The ability to access content from Workplace within Teams without switching between the two is pitched as making it easier for employees to stay up to date with important information. In addition, it’s said that the link will open up more opportunities for companywide feedback and engagement.

Workplace content will be available in Teams through a dedicated app. The app can be pinned to the Teams navigation bar. Teams administrators will also be able to mark important content to highlight it in the Workplace app.

“One thing I learned from the pandemic is that companies don’t just rely on one tool to get their work done, so it is our responsibility as leaders in the space to make sure the tools they use integrate and interoperate with each other,” Jeff Teper, corporate vice president product and engineering of Microsoft Teams, said in a blog post. “We have a shared vision of offering our customers choice and flexibility, so it made sense for us to come together to help our mutual customers unlock collaboration and break down silos within their organizations.”

Companies such as Vodafone plc, Fight Center Travel Group Ltd. and Lockton Companies Inc. have been trying out the Workplace integration within Teams. Accenture plc had also requested the integration.

The partnership isn’t the first between the two companies. Workplace can already integrate into SharePoint, OneDrive and Office 356. Workplace is also offered as an app in Microsoft’s Azure Active Directory.

CNBC noted that the partnership could prove most beneficial to Meta since Workplace drastically lags behind its competitors in terms of users. Workplace had 7 million users as of May, whereas Microsoft teams had more than 250 million active monthly users as of July.

The partnership only extends so far, however. Microsoft’s enterprise social network software Yammer, which directly competes with Workplace, is not part of the integration deal.

Image: Meta