Workplace by Facebook hits two million paid users

Facebook has revealed its paid Workplace enterprise communications platform is now being used by two million people worldwide, a little over two years after its launch.

The social network said more than 150 large companies (with more than 10,000 employees) have signed up to its corporate collaboration tool, offering workers a centralised place to communicate with each other.

Over the past 12 months, some major brands joined Workplace, including Nestle, Vodafone, GSK, Telefonica, AstraZeneca, Delta Airlines and NAB (National Australia Bank).

"We believe this rapid uptake is because Workplace creates lasting business value, increasing the impact teams can have on their organization and customers," the company said.

"Team members can work smarter, make better decisions, and take decisive action all empowered by more social communication and information sharing."

All of this is provided on a platform that's familiar to employees using regular Facebook tools. With Workplace, teams can connect in exactly the same way as people can connect with friends online, using enhanced business-centric tools such as groups, chat and video calls.

The service costs from $3 per user, per month, although it also offers a 90-day free trial and for life for registered non-profits and staff of educational institutions, as part of Facebook's mission to make collaboration a necessity.

Facebook hasn't revealed how many additional customers it has using its free service or its educational or NGO customers on its Workplace for Good programme, which offers free subscriptions.

Facebook only started charging Workplace users in October 2017, which would appear to have been a move to get companies to get familiar with the service before it decided to make money off them.