[Software]Microsoft launches Viva, an all-in-one platform for telecommuting, targeting a market of 250 billion

[SougarLord]

 

 

Almost a year after the Covid-19 pandemic forced many companies to apply teleworking, Microsoft has launched a new technological platform, called Viva, its new version of the intranet that most large companies offer to their employees and with which he seeks, he says, to improve remote work and meet the needs of employees in the new work environment.

 

The CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, has assured that, after this health crisis, the way in which people learn, live and work will change forever. “We have participated in the largest remote work experiment and it has had a dramatic impact on the employee experience (…) As the world recovers, there is no going back (…) and the flexibility in when, where and how we work will be key ".

 

Faced with this scenario, the software giant argues that organizations will need more than ever a unified platform that allows their employees to do their work, share knowledge within the company, have continuous training, and also help them maintain the internal culture and fostering community among its workers.

 

The launch of Viva, which integrates with Teams (its collaboration and communication software) and Microsoft 365, marks Microsoft's entry into the increasingly crowded category of employee experience technology, where it will compete with companies like Qualtrics (SAP ) and Lemonade. All of them offer tools for companies to measure and improve the overall quality of work and the well-being of their employees.

 

It is a market that moves 300,000 million dollars (about 250,000 million euros), according to the analysis companies, and in which there are many providers offering solutions for performance management, employee well-being, learning, human resources applications , etc.

 

Microsoft kicks off the platform with four initial modules, although more will come. One is Viva Connections, which includes chat and internal company communication mechanisms. According to Microsoft, it is like the gateway to the company, where there will be an area to receive news, benefits and access to important resources. Another, Viva Insights, which helps work teams set daily priorities and limits on their calendars to avoid the risk of burnout. This module will also allow the generation of information from aggregate data so that managers can monitor work patterns and trends, "but with the privacy of employees protected," according to Microsoft.

 

The other two modules are Viva Learning, where training materials, courses and other content related to training that may be from the company or third parties will be housed, and Viva Topics, which will allow employees to be better informed, since with a just click to access documents, conversations, videos and people related to the topics you are working on. This module uses artificial intelligence and integrates with third-party services such as ServiceNow and Salesforce.

 

The Redmond company, which has not disclosed the pricing for Viva, has an extensive network of partners, including Accenture, Avanade, PwC and EY, to help companies carry out its new platform. A platform with which the company will also give a boost to Teams (which suffers from strong competition with Zoom, Slack and Google), its productivity technologies, and LinkedIn, the business social network that it acquired for more than 26,000 million in 2016, since Viva Learning includes content from LinkedIn Learning and Viva Insight uses resources from this social platform, although it can also use data from third-party tools such as Zoom, Slack, Workday and SAP SuccessFactors.