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Online office: a sword for giants to new quality productivity

author:Liu Kuang
Online office: a sword for giants to new quality productivity

Illustration courtesy of Canva

With the dividends of the mobile Internet gradually declining and the momentum of the industrial Internet flourishing, many domestic Internet giants are accelerating their move towards B-end business in order to expand more development space. As the "sweet and sweet" online office in the domestic To B market, it has become another battlefield for Internet giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, Pinduoduo, and ByteDance.

The online office market still has the potential to be tapped, which can be said to be a better choice for the giants to make efforts in the direction of To B. In the face of such a huge market opportunity, players of various genres have also shown a unique understanding of online office products. A number of Internet giants have entered the game one after another, relying on their own characteristics and advantages, staged an offensive and defensive battle in the field of online office.

Baidu Ruliu and Huawei Cloud Welink: Based on cloud technology

In fact, due to the large number of employees and large business stalls, there is a great demand for online office, so many well-known large companies have their own set of online office systems. For example, Baidu has launched Baidu Ruliu, which features "AI + knowledge management", and Huawei has also launched Huawei Cloud WeLink, which emphasizes "security collaboration" capabilities. As we all know, in the domestic cloud computing market, Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud have unique advantages and deep accumulation, and Baidu Ruliu and Huawei Cloud WeLink have also released huge energy in the online office market based on their own cloud computing.

In terms of intelligence, Ruliu and WeLink are based on the technical support of Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud respectively, giving their products stronger functions, thereby improving the work efficiency and convenience of enterprise users. The technical strength of Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud is the most competitive "weapon" of Ruliu and WeLink. With the help of Baidu Cloud and HUAWEI CLOUD cloud to store and process data, such as Stream and WeLink, it can not only achieve more powerful data analysis and intelligent decision-making, but also perform intelligent scheduling, intelligent task assignment, and automatic document processing, further simplifying workflows, improving work efficiency, and bringing a more personalized and accurate collaboration experience.

In terms of security, Ruliu and WeLink have inherited the accumulation of Baidu and Huawei in the field of information security, strengthened the security performance of their products, and effectively ensured the data security and privacy protection of enterprise users. Both Baidu Ruliu and Huawei WeLink have a high level of trust among enterprise customers. Ruliu takes information security as the core and adopts a number of security measures such as multi-layer encryption and permission management to ensure the data security and privacy protection of enterprise users. WeLink uses Huawei's self-developed security technologies, including end-to-end encryption and data isolation, to enable enterprise users to trust and rely on the platform.

In terms of synergy, Ruliu and WeLink integrate multiple application scenarios from Baidu and Huawei, which facilitates multi-dimensional collaboration and collaboration, thereby improving the collaboration efficiency and communication effect of enterprise users. Both Baidu and Huawei have strong ecosystems and rich application scenarios, thanks to which Baidu Ruliu has created an open and shared smart office ecosystem, which connects with various third-party applications and services to provide users with a richer and more personalized office experience. HUAWEI CLOUD WeLink has a global layout and service network, which can provide stable and efficient smart office services for enterprise users around the world.

Although Baidu Ruliu and HUAWEI CLOUD WeLink are both potential smart office solutions, there are also some shortcomings and challenges in practical applications. For example, if the stream is highly intelligent, it also means that users will become more dependent on it, and if there is a problem with the network connection or the service is interrupted, the user may not be able to use the platform normally. In addition, Welink is mainly for Huawei device users, and compared with other open smart office platforms, Welink's ecosystem is relatively closed, which means that users may be limited by device brands and cannot seamlessly connect with devices from other manufacturers.

Online office: a sword for giants to new quality productivity

Illustration courtesy of Canva

NetEase Lingxi, Pinduoduo Knock: Putting the needs of enterprises first

There is never a shortage of new players in the online office market, and as a "blue ocean", a small number of online office products cannot meet the huge industry demand, which is destined to inject "fresh blood" into the online office industry. For example, Pinduoduo launched an online office software called "Knock" a few years ago, and NetEase also launched a very powerful and comprehensive office tool, NetEase Lingxi. As an "old Jianghu" mixed with the Internet, whether it is NetEase or Pinduoduo, its accumulated industry experience and technical capabilities are undoubtedly at the top of the industry, which also makes its Lingxi and Knock gain a foothold in the field of online office.

From the perspective of experience, Lingxi and Knock can better serve customers with the help of NetEase and Pinduoduo's long-term experience in serving the C-end, thereby improving the comfort and experience of customers. Although online office belongs to the B-side, the real majority of users of online office products are actually every ordinary employee. NetEase and Pinduoduo, as members of the Internet giants, have many years of experience in serving the C-end, and their online office products will also pay more attention to personal feelings and personal experience. Therefore, online office products such as Lingxi and Knock, which are rooted in the development of employees themselves, will be easier to meet the needs of the company's employees and more suitable for the majority of employees.

In terms of ecology, Lingxi and Knock can further optimize the office experience by relying on the rich ecosystem accumulated by NetEase and Pinduoduo, so as to maintain higher market competitiveness. As a product of NetEase, Lingxi has made full use of NetEase's rich product ecology and massive data resources to develop a new way of playing "mailbox + office". Coincidentally, Knock also integrates Pinduoduo's rich ecological resources and strong technological advantages in the e-commerce field to provide customers with a series of smart office tools and services, including online meetings, file sharing, team collaboration, etc., to help enterprises achieve efficient office.

In terms of service, Lingxi and Knock are able to provide customers with customized services, which is conducive to meeting the individual needs of customers, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. As a smart office platform launched by Pinduoduo, Knock provides a series of personalized, intelligent and collaborative office tools and services for enterprise users through in-depth understanding of the actual needs and pain points of enterprises. Lingxi is also committed to providing diversified customized services for enterprises of different industries and sizes, and tailor-made suitable office solutions according to the needs and characteristics of enterprises, which can be said to be a powerful, easy-to-use and efficient office tool.

NetEase Lingxi and Pinduoduo Knock smart office platforms, although they have certain advantages and functions, still need to be improved and optimized in some aspects. For example, although Lingxi provides some practical functions such as voice assistant and voice search, compared with other online office platforms, the functions may still be not comprehensive, especially in the support of business applications and life scenarios. As an emerging intelligent assistant platform, Knock's functional experience may not be stable enough, and users may encounter some poor use, which requires continuous optimization and improvement of the platform.

Online office: a sword for giants to new quality productivity

Illustration courtesy of Canva

DingTalk, Feishu, and WeChat Enterprise have strong barriers to defending the city

Whether it is Baidu Ruliu and Huawei WeLink, or NetEase Lingxi and Pinduoduo knock, they have all shown strong attraction in the field of online office with their respective advantages, and have also brought many new variables to this battlefield. It's just that all along, when it comes to online office, you can't avoid the top players DingTalk, WeChat, and Feishu, which means that other players will inevitably face these three "roadblocks" if they want to leverage the online office market. What's more, DingTalk, WeCom, and Feishu have been deeply cultivated in the industry for many years and are one of the leading smart office platforms in China, and it is not easy for other players to surpass them.

In terms of user volume, DingTalk, WeCom and Feishu have accumulated a large number of customer resources by virtue of their first-mover advantage, and it will take some time for other products to catch up. According to the latest data released by QuestMobile, a third-party organization, in April 2023, the MAU (number of monthly active users) of collaborative office apps will remain high: DingTalk MAU ranks first with 199 million, WeChat Work ranks second with 102 million, and Feishu ranks about 12 million. Although other platforms are also backed by leading Internet companies and have their own office needs of a large number of small and medium-sized enterprises, there is still a certain gap compared with the user volume of DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Feishu.

In terms of product form, DingTalk, WeCom and Feishu have innovative working methods and powerful collaboration functions, and it is easy to imagine how difficult it is for other products to form differentiated advantages. Although DingTalk, WeChat Work and Feishu are on the same track, they have taken different forks in the road. DingTalk adheres to the underlying thinking and pays more attention to management, WeChat Work is people-centered and plays the role of "connector", and Feishu maintains the attributes of tools and is committed to collaboration, the three have distinctive characteristics and profound accumulation, and latecomers can only launch more intelligent, personalized and closer products to customer needs if they want to win the favor of enterprise customers, which is not easy to do.

In terms of market position, DingTalk, WeChat Work and Feishu have a significant influence in the field of online office, and it is not easy for other products to have the same voice. Feishu is popular among innovative companies and teams looking for flexibility, and WeChat Work has shown great potential in industries such as retail and finance, not to mention that DingTalk's intelligent office features make it a leading position in the entire online office field. No matter from which point of view, the popularity and influence of these three among various enterprise customers are constantly increasing, and it is difficult for other players to easily shake the industry position of these three.

Although DingTalk, WeChat Work and Feishu are the leading online office platforms in China, there are also some problems that cannot be ignored. For example, the interface of DingTalk is relatively complex, and it may take a certain amount of time and effort to adapt and learn, which will undoubtedly cause a large learning cost. However, the functions of WeCom are not rich and comprehensive compared to Personal WeChat, so it may be lacking in integration and function expansion with other office software. Compared with the first two, Feishu's user experience may need to be further optimized and improved, and more effort needs to be put into the processing and storage of user data.

Online office: a sword for giants to new quality productivity

Illustration courtesy of Canva

It is a competitor and a development booster

In fact, since the development of domestic online office, many Internet giants have entered the game. With the continuous influx of new players in this track, it is foreseeable that the competition in the industry will become more and more fierce in the future. However, it is worth noting that competition is not all bad, with new players such as Baidu Ruliu, Huawei WeLink, NetEase Lingxi, and Pinduoduoknock entering the market to disrupt the situation, more new possibilities will burst out in the online office field.

On the one hand, the competition between the giants in the online office space can force platforms to innovate. For online office platforms, in addition to user experience, product innovation is also a key competitive strategy. Therefore, in order to remain competitive in the market, each online office platform will innovate by continuously introducing new technologies, expanding new scenarios, adding new services, and strengthening security. The emergence of Ruliu, WeLink, Lingxi, and Knock may bring a different way of thinking to the increasingly fierce competition of the "Top Three in Enterprise Office", and can also stimulate the online office industry to develop at a deeper level.

On the other hand, the online office market is constantly competitive, which is conducive to the continuous optimization of customer experience. From the business level, customer demand is the ultimate battlefield of competition, because the real competition is not only the direct confrontation of product functions, but also how to meet customer needs through service, security, experience, etc., so the essence of competition is the customer. And once a platform dominates, it's easy to lose sight of the customer experience. With new players entering the game, in order to retain customers, each platform will try its best to meet the needs of users, so as to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of enterprises, and win the recognition and trust of more users.

In general, although the various players in the online office field are competitors to each other, they also contribute to the development, and they have formed a diversified and coexisting competitive landscape with their own characteristics and advantages, which will undoubtedly promote the online office market to a higher goal. It's just that, at present, DingTalk and other head players have long accumulated a deep accumulation, and other players such as Baidu Ruliu may still have a long way to go if they want to become a real "spoiler". In the future, only time will tell whether the online office will be one superpower, a three-legged powerhouse, or an intensification of the scuffle.

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