Facebook has signed a deal with Microsoft to use the firms Office 365 suite for internal web-based email and calendar services for its 13,000 employees while it works on its own workplace communication and collaboration services.

Employees will still use the social networks Facebook at Work service to collaborate on projects, but the software doesnt currently have an email or calendar component, hence Facebook signing the deal with Microsoft, which will also see the company using Offices Delve feature to easily find information within documents.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal will focus on areas that Facebook currently cant replicate with its own software, so employees wont have access to Yammer, Microsofts workplace social network, or Skype for Business, either for messaging or videoconferencing, as these directly compete with Facebooks own offerings.

The deal is partially driven by Facebooks desire to move to a cloud-based solution. At present, it uses an on-premise Exchange based email, but Office 365 will enable them to free up internal servers by storing data in the cloud.

The duration and financial terms of the deal havent been disclosed, but given that Facebook is working on its own workplace solutions, it may simply be using Office 365 as a stop-gap measure. That said, Facebook has made no indications that it is interested in competing with email providers, and Tim Campos, Facebooks chief information officer, has said that Facebook at Work is not intended to replace email, so perhaps the deal will have staying power.

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