Microsoft has announced a major update to Office 365 that adds a machine-learning powered social network on top of its productivity apps. This new ‘Office Graph,’ will be rolled out to all Office 365 applications.
Office graph will analyse how users interact on a social platform with email, documents, sites and instant messages to create a personalized view of their company network. The app is based on Microsoft’s private social network Yammer and will be adapted to Office 365 with a new dedicated app called ‘Oslo’.
Microsoft is also bringing across the ‘Groups Experience’ from Yammer that will allow users to set up a new group from within any Office 365 app. The feature automatically includes the users inbox, social feed, calendar and document library. The company says that users can make these ‘private’ for sensitive projects.
Microsoft is also adding the ability to have social conversations inside documents in SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business.
At the Sharepoint conference, Microsoft’s corporate vice president Jeff Teper said that the update was so far the “most transformative release” of Office 365 and “the biggest step for Office 365 that Microsoft has ever taken.”
“Today, the world has become a giant network where connections make information more relevant and people more productive. Most companies, however, are not working like a network, which we believe is vital for their ability to improve collaboration and respond to customers, competition and market changes,” Teper added.
Last month, Microsoft brought e-signatures to Office 365 in partnership with DocuSign. The eSignature will allow users to submit and sign documents without leaving Microsoft applications. The new feature will include quick integration within SharePoint Online, Outlook, Word and SharePoint Server 2013.
Source: TNW