By Amy@BubbleJobs
It’s fair to say Google has been pretty busy with its social network recently. From vanity URLs to cool photo tools and apps, the search giant has been putting a lot of time and effort into improving Google+ recently – and last week was no different.
On Tuesday, Google announced it’s next bid to get its finger into the enterprise social network pie – ‘Restricted Communities’. According to the Big G, with the new Restricted Communities function, companies will be able to create invite-only communities or communities which are only open to those with an email address associated with a particular domain.
The point? Companies will be able to use Google+ as their private social network – allowing users to upload files directly from Google Drive and privately share them with other members of the community, safe in the knowledge they’ll never get accidentally leaked to the rest of Google+ and the search engines beyond.
Of course, Google+ has had things like Restricted Posts in place for a while – but this new functionality adds an extra layer of security to the network which is sure to be more than a little appealing to companies looking for a secure, low-cost social enterprise platform.
The introduction of Restricted Communities to Google+ means the social network is now in the up-and-coming (and somewhat lucrative!) enterprise social network market – and its new features means it’s sure to draw comparisons to the current market-leader – Microsoft’s Yammer.
Currently used by more than 200,000 companies (including 85% of the Fortune 500), Yammer provides businesses with a private social network which can be used to encourage interaction, collaboration and engagement between employees.
Interestingly, just a few days after Google announced the launch of Google+ Restricted Communities, Microsoft announced some major updates and improvements to Yammer. These included simpler integration between Enterprise customers and external users, improved email integration and improved real-time messaging.
So, was the timing of Microsoft’s announcement a coincidence or a defensive counter-move? I think it’s probably a bit of both – but at the moment, if I were Microsoft, I wouldn’t be too concerned about Google+. Yes, Google+’s offering might be 100% free (for now!) – but so is the basic version of Yammer which basically offers the same functionality as Restricted Communities.
While Google might be able to tempt some smaller companies with its new offering, I think it’s going to be a different story when it comes to the big guns. Why? Because it’s too basic. Yes, a private community is going to be useful for any company – but at the moment, Restricted Communities only offer basic sharing functionality (if a company is using Google Drive!) – something which is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to enterprise social networks.
With Yammer, depending on your chosen package, you can organise events, integrate Yammer feeds into business applications, access analytics and custom brand the network. Granted, not every company will want (or need!), all of the features that Yammer offers (and at $3-$20 per user it’s not cheap!), but when it comes to the Fortune 500 companies, the majority will – and that’s what really counts.
That said, now that Google’s dipped its toe into the corporate business water, it’ll be interesting to see what its next move will be. How will it tempt businesses over to Restricted Communities? Will it stick with basic features? Or will it introduce more advanced features that come with a monthly fee?
As ever, we’re keen to hear your thoughts on this one. Leave us a comment below or tweet me – @amy_edwards88.
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