Microsoft has announced the final curtain for Yammer, the enterprise-focused social network it acquired more than a decade ago.
Costing around $1.2 billion, Yammer was acquired by the office software giant in 2012 and integrated into the company’s Microsoft Office suite as a social media companion for Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
However, it never really gained traction, largely existing in the background, despite a healthy pipeline of updates and upgrades from Microsoft.
Viva Engage
However, this is not completely the end of Yammer’s services and tools, as the platform will instead be integrated into Microsoft’s Viva Engage offering.
Launched in 2019, Microsoft Viva was the company’s attempt to bring together its online collaboration and enterprise tools and services on a single platform, with Viva Engage launching in 2022 to empower workers to express themselves in a meaningful way. more personal.
“Viva Engage is a social app for digital communities, conversations, and self-expression tools that builds on the existing capabilities of the Communities app for Teams and Microsoft 365 to connect employees and empower everyone to contribute and to express yourself by meeting people where they are in Teams and Microsoft 365,” the company said at the time.
In the official Microsoft 365 roadmap entry (opens in a new tab) Describing the change, the company notes that the rebrand “will provide a consistent and enjoyable experience for our customers and users” that should help them get the most out of the platform.
In a blog post (opens in a new tab) Expanding on this, Viva and Yammer senior vice president Murali Sitaram said the platform was “evolving” to become part of Viva Engage following “confusion” around having two services offering many of the same experiences.
“Yammer has powered Microsoft’s community experiences for over a decade,” he wrote.
“During this time, we have seen our customers use Yammer to influence their company culture, bring employees together during probation periods, share knowledge, and give employees a voice that positively influences change within their organizations. ”
“During this time, you have inspired us, shaped us and grown with us.”
The rebranding, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2023, will affect Yammer in all of its current iterations, with web and mobile customers expected to be affected.
Microsoft says users will start seeing Yammer become Viva Engage through updated branding elements like the logo, app icon, and name in the coming months, with Sitaram noting that the branding changes will not affect the price of Yammer or Viva for customers.
