If you’ve been living under a rock then you might have missed the news. Meta is shutting down Workplace, moving all Workplaces to read-only on September 1st, 2025. And look, I get it. You’ve probably been using Meta Workplace for years, your teams are comfortable with it, and now suddenly you’re being told you need to find something else. Trust me, I’ve been there with platform migrations, and it’s never fun.
But what if I posed to you, it’s not all that bad? this might actually be a blessing in disguise. I’ve been diving deep into Microsoft Viva Engage for quite a while, and honestly? It’s what Workplace should have been all along. Let me walk you through why this transition might be the best thing that’s happened to your company’s internal comms in years.
So What’s the Deal with Meta Shutting Down Workplace?
Here’s the story: Meta decided they want to go all-in on AI and the metaverse instead of maintaining Workplace. I mean, fair enough that’s where the big money is for them. But it kind of leaves us hanging, right? About 7 million users worldwide are suddenly looking for a new home.
What you need to know about the timeline:
- Until August 31, 2025: Everything works like normal (phew!)
- September 1, 2025: You can only read stuff, no more posting
- June 1, 2026: Lights out completely
So you’ve only got a month before it’s all read-only (18 months before they turn off the lights). That’s not a lot of time when you factor in getting approvals, testing, training your team, and actually moving all your content.
Okay, So What’s Viva Engage Like Compared to Workplace?
The good news? If you’re comfortable with Workplace, you’ll feel right at home with Viva Engage. It’s got all the stuff you’re used to, but with some serious upgrades under the hood.
The Familiar Stuff You Already Know and Love
Your Groups Become Communities You know how you have Groups in Workplace for different teams and projects? Viva Engage calls them Communities, and they work pretty much the same way. The difference is they’re way more customisable and play nicely with all your Microsoft stuff.
News Feed Gets an Upgrade That Facebook-style feed you’re used to? It’s there, but better. Viva Engage calls them Storylines, and they actually show up in Outlook and Teams too. So your updates reach people where they already are.
Leadership Stays Connected Remember how leadership can post and interact in Workplace? Viva Engage has something called Leadership Corner that takes this to the next level. Think Ask Me Anything sessions, surveys, and way better visibility into what the C-suite is up to.
High-Fives and Recognition All those praise posts and employee shout-outs you’re doing? They transfer over seamlessly. Viva Engage simply makes it easier to celebrate wins across the whole organization.
Mobile Works Great Both platforms have solid mobile apps, so your field teams and remote workers won’t miss a beat.
Where Viva Engage Really Shines
File Sharing That Actually Works Workplace’s file sharing is… okay. But Viva Engage connects directly to SharePoint, OneDrive, and all your Office apps. So, when someone shares a PowerPoint in a community, your whole team can edit it in real-time. It’s like magic, but better.
Video That Does More Sure, Workplace has live streaming, but Viva Engage’s Virtual Events let you have conversations and Q&A before, during, and after your live sessions. It’s like having a full conference experience built right in.
Translation That Keeps Up Both platforms handle multiple languages, but Microsoft’s translation services are honestly just better. Plus, it integrates with everything else you’re probably already using.
Why I Think You’ll Actually Love This Move
Everything Just Works Together
This is the big one. If you’re using Microsoft 365 (and let’s be honest, most companies are), Viva Engage isn’t just another app you bolt on. It’s built right into Teams, shows up in Outlook, connects to SharePoint – it’s like your whole digital workplace suddenly makes sense.
I had a client who was constantly switching between Workplace, Teams, email, and SharePoint. Now with Viva Engage, they can start a conversation in Teams, continue it in the mobile app, and reference it in SharePoint without missing a beat. It’s the integration you always wished you had.
Your Company Actually Gets Smarter
Here’s something cool that Workplace never really nailed: Answers in Viva. It’s like having a crowdsourced knowledge base that builds itself. When someone asks a question, the community can upvote the best answers, and over time you build this searchable database of institutional knowledge.
Think about it…how many times have you seen the same questions pop up in different Workplace groups? With Viva Engage, those answers get preserved and surface automatically when similar questions come up. Your company literally gets smarter over time.
The Knowledge Features That Actually Matter:
- People can mark “best answers” that bubble to the top
- Everything’s searchable and organized with topics
- You start to see who your real subject matter experts are
Security That Actually Protects You
Look, I don’t want to throw shade at Workplace, but let’s be real their security was pretty basic. Viva Engage runs on Microsoft’s enterprise security infrastructure. We’re talking serious encryption, compliance certifications, and access controls that might even make your IT team smile.
If you’re in a regulated industry or handling sensitive data, this alone might justify the switch. Microsoft takes security seriously in a way that Meta… well, let’s just say they have different priorities.
Analytics That Actually Help
Workplace gives you some basic metrics, but Viva Engage’s analytics are next level. You can see engagement trends, understand what content resonates, track knowledge sharing patterns … it’s like having a dashboard for your company culture.
I’ve seen teams use these insights to identify communication gaps, spot emerging trends, and even predict which initiatives are going to succeed based on early engagement patterns.
Leadership That People Actually Want to Follow
Remember how leadership visibility was always a challenge in Workplace? Leadership Corner changes the game completely. Employees can follow what leaders are up to, see their posts and community involvement, and there are built-in ways to do AMAs and surveys.
It’s like having transparent leadership built into the platform instead of trying to hack it together with regular posts.
People Share More and Ask Better Questions
Here’s something interesting – research shows that people post more in public communities on Viva Engage compared to Workplace, and they ask more questions too. That means better knowledge sharing and a more curious, collaborative culture.
When your people are asking more questions and sharing more openly, good things happen. Innovation goes up, silos break down, and problems get solved faster.
What About the Money?
Here’s the beautiful part: if you’re already using Microsoft 365 (and most companies are), the basic Viva Engage features are included. You’re not paying extra for another platform. It’s already there waiting for you.
Here’s how the pricing breaks down:
- Basic stuff: Already included in your Microsoft 365 E3/E5 licenses
- Premium features: Available if you want the advanced analytics and campaign tools
- Full experience: Microsoft Viva Suite if you want the whole employee experience platform
For most companies, this actually saves money compared to paying for separate collaboration tools.
How to Actually Make This Happen
Don’t Go It Alone – Work with Insentra
I’ve seen companies try to handle major platform migrations themselves, and it rarely goes smoothly. There are too many moving pieces, too much at stake, and frankly, life’s too short to figure out data migration scripts yourself.
Insentra specialises in exactly this kind of transition. We know both platforms inside and out, we’ve got the tools to move your content seamlessly, and most importantly, we understand that this isn’t just about technology – it’s about keeping your people engaged and productive during the change.
Here’s what working with Insentra gets you:
- Content migration that actually works: All your groups, posts, files, and user relationships transfer over properly
- Zero downtime: Your teams keep working while the migration happens in the background
- Training that sticks: We help your people understand not just how to use Viva Engage, but how to get the most out of its new features
- Support when you need it: Because there’s always something that comes up during a transition
My Advice on Timing: You Need to Move NOW
Okay, I need to be really direct with you now. With the September 1st read-only deadline approaching fast, teams need a plan now. Delay means disruption, plain and simple. Think about that for a second: no more posting, no more commenting, no more collaboration. Your communication platform basically becomes a digital museum.
For most companies, that’s the moment Workplace stops being useful as a communication tool. Sure, people can still read old posts, but your daily operations? Dead in the water.
Here’s the reality check:
- One month left for active communication on Workplace
- Read-only mode means your teams can’t collaborate anymore
- Everyone else is going to be scrambling for alternatives at the same time
- Insentra’s calendar is about to get absolutely slammed
If you start planning your migration now, you might be able to get your new Viva Engage communities set up and your key content moved before the September deadline. But if you wait? You’re looking at months of operating with a crippled communication platform while you figure out your next move.
I’m not trying to create panic here, but the window for a smooth transition is closing fast.
The Real Talk
The bottom line: Meta forcing you off Workplace actually opens up an opportunity to upgrade your whole internal communication game. Viva Engage isn’t just a replacement – it’s what you probably wished Workplace could have been all along.
The integration with Microsoft 365 alone will save your teams time and frustration. The enhanced security will make your IT department happy. The better analytics will give you insights you never had before. And the knowledge management features might actually make your company smarter.
Yes, change is annoying. Yes, you’ll have to get everyone trained on something new. But honestly? Six months after you make the switch, you’re going to wonder why you didn’t do it sooner.
Ready to get started? The smart play is to reach out to Insentra sooner now. We can assess what you’ve got in Workplace, help you plan the migration, and make sure your transition is smooth. Because the goal isn’t just to move platforms, it’s to come out the other side with better communication, more engagement, and a more connected team.
And trust me, after seeing companies go through this transition, the ones who plan it right end up in a much better place than where they started.
