You may have heard of Microsoft Viva, a new product that Microsoft calls its «employee experience platform.» Microsoft 365 and Teams power this new platform to empower people to be their best, whether working from the office or remotely. Many companies are learning more about Viva daily, figuring out what it is and if it’s worth implementing. Let’s find out!

What Is Microsoft Viva?

The description of Viva, an «employee experience platform,» doesn’t tell prospective clients much about what this platform does. In short, Viva is a collection of four different Microsoft Teams programs that aim to make work easier for employees.

The first program is Viva Learning which has many benefits, including integrating Teams and accessing the full Microsoft Learn and Microsoft 365 training libraries. In addition, you’ll gain access to the top LinkedIn Learning courses, be able to search for learning opportunities, and can even integrate with partner providers like Pluralsight. It’s truly a one-stop shop for all employee learning.

Viva Connections provides a company-branded space for employees to interact with one another. Employees can also interact with partner providers and human resource systems, and people can target communications to specific employees. It’s essentially an easy way for all employees to interact with each other – even if they are remote!

Another feature of Microsoft Viva is Viva Insights, a tool that makes it easier for people to prioritize and understand their work. Managers gain insights for leading teams, leadership has metrics that help them understand trends across the organization, and employees get helpful briefing emails and personalized insights into Teams.

The final feature is Viva Topics which helps people understand company information, topics, and organizations. For example, suppose an employee sends an email about Team Alpha. Topics would then highlight the term «Team Alpha» and let the employee read more about it. The pop-up card in outlook might have a team description. It might also include the people in that team and some documents that team has edited recently. This feature is helpful for newer employees who may not yet be familiar with your company’s vocabulary!

How Much Does Microsoft Viva Cost?

Microsoft Viva Suite, which includes all four products above, costs $9 per user per month. Your standard Microsoft 365 subscription has Viva Connections and some Viva Learning and Insights components, but not all of them. Therefore, that $9 a month charge is for a more robust Learning and Insights experience and Viva Topics.

$9 a month sounds inexpensive initially, but if you have 100 employees, where adding Viva would cost $900 a month. Microsoft does not advertise any bulk pricing.

Should Your Business Start Using Viva?

Viva has a lot of positives. Whether or not your business will benefit from it depends on your company. If you have a small company – three people, for example – you probably won’t benefit much from Microsoft Viva. However, if you are part of a hundred-person or more company, Viva presents a compelling platform. It will most definitely improve the experience of your employees!