As the mobile internet boom gradually fades and the industrial internet gains momentum, many domestic internet giants are accelerating their move into B2B services to expand their growth potential. Online office, being a "hot cake" in the domestic To B market, has become another battleground for internet titans such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, NetEase, Pinduoduo, and ByteDance.
The online office market still has untapped potential and can be considered a good choice for giants to focus on the To B direction. Faced with such a huge market opportunity, players from various schools of thought have shown unique understandings of online office products. The internet giants that have successively entered the market have also staged a battle of offense and defense in the field of online office, leveraging their own characteristics and advantages.
Baidu RuLiu, Huawei Cloud WeLink: Based on Cloud Technology
In fact, due to the large number of employees in enterprises and the extensive business deployment, there is a significant demand for online office, so many well-known large companies have their own online office systems. For example, Baidu previously launched Baidu RuLiu with the characteristic of "AI + Knowledge Management," and Huawei also launched Huawei Cloud WeLink, which emphasizes "secure collaboration" capabilities. As we all know, in the domestic cloud computing market, Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud have unique advantages and deep accumulation. Baidu RuLiu and Huawei Cloud WeLink are based on their own cloud computing to unleash tremendous energy in the online office market.
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In terms of intelligence, RuLiu and WeLink are based on the technical support of Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud, respectively, to endow their products with 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" for RuLiu and WeLink. With the help of Baidu Cloud and Huawei Cloud's cloud storage and data processing, RuLiu and WeLink can not only achieve more powerful data analysis and intelligent decision-making but also carry out intelligent scheduling, intelligent task allocation, automated document processing, etc., further simplifying the workflow, improving work efficiency, and bringing a more personalized and accurate collaborative experience.
In terms of security, RuLiu and WeLink inherit the accumulation of Baidu and Huawei in the field of information security, strengthening the security performance of the products and effectively protecting the data security and privacy of enterprise users. Baidu RuLiu and Huawei WeLink both have a high level of trust among enterprise customers. RuLiu takes information security as the core, adopting multiple security measures such as multi-layer encryption and permission management to ensure the data security and privacy protection of enterprise users. WeLink adopts Huawei's self-developed security technology, including end-to-end encryption, data isolation, and other security measures, allowing enterprise users to trust and rely on the platform.
In terms of collaboration, RuLiu and WeLink integrate multiple application scenarios of Baidu and Huawei, which helps to improve multi-dimensional collaboration and coordination, thereby enhancing the collaboration efficiency and communication effectiveness of enterprise users. Both Baidu and Huawei have a strong ecosystem and rich application scenarios. Thanks to this, Baidu RuLiu has created an open and shared intelligent office ecosystem, connecting 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 intelligent office services for enterprise users worldwide.
Although Baidu RuLiu and Huawei Cloud WeLink are both potential intelligent office solutions, there will also be some shortcomings and challenges in practical applications. For example, the high level of intelligence of RuLiu also means that users' dependence on it will increase. If there are network connection problems or service interruptions, users may not be able to use the platform normally. In addition, WeLink is mainly aimed at Huawei device users. Compared with other open intelligent office platforms, WeLink's ecosystem is relatively closed, which means that users may be restricted by the brand of the device and cannot seamlessly connect with devices from other manufacturers.
NetEase Lingxi, Pinduoduo Knock: Prioritizing Enterprise NeedsThe online office market has never been short of new players, and as a "blue ocean," a few online office products cannot meet the vast industry demands, which inevitably leads to the infusion of "fresh blood" into the online office industry. For instance, Pinduoduo introduced an online office software called "Knock" a few years ago, and NetEase also launched a very powerful and comprehensive office tool called NetEase Lingxi. As seasoned "veterans" in the internet industry, both NetEase and Pinduoduo have accumulated industry experience and technical capabilities that are undoubtedly at the top of the industry, which has allowed Lingxi and Knock to establish a foothold in the online office field.
From experience, Lingxi and Knock, leveraging NetEase and Pinduoduo's long-term service experience in the C-end market, can better serve customers, thereby enhancing their comfort and experience. Although online office belongs to the B-end, the real users of online office products are actually every ordinary employee. As part of the major internet companies, NetEase and Pinduoduo have years of experience serving the C-end market, and their online office products will pay more attention to individual feelings and experiences. Therefore, online office products like Lingxi and Knock, which are developed based on the needs of employees themselves, will be more likely to meet the needs of company employees and are more suitable for a wide range of employees to use.
In terms of ecosystem, Lingxi and Knock, relying on the rich ecosystem accumulated by NetEase and Pinduoduo, can further optimize the office experience, thereby maintaining higher market competitiveness. As a product under NetEase, Lingxi fully utilizes NetEase's rich product ecosystem and massive data resources to develop a new approach of "email + office." Similarly, Knock has integrated Pinduoduo's rich ecosystem resources and strong technical advantages in the e-commerce field, providing customers with a series of intelligent office tools and services, including online meetings, file sharing, and team collaboration, to help enterprises achieve efficient office work.
In terms of services, Lingxi and Knock can provide customized services for customers, which is conducive to meeting their personalized needs, thereby enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty. As an intelligent office platform launched by Pinduoduo, Knock, through in-depth understanding of the actual needs and pain points of enterprises, provides a series of personalized, intelligent, and collaborative office tools and services for enterprise users. Lingxi is also committed to providing a variety of customized services for enterprises of different industries and sizes, tailoring office solutions according to the needs and characteristics of enterprises, which can be said to be a powerful and easy-to-use efficient office tool.
Although NetEase Lingxi and Pinduoduo Knock intelligent office platforms have certain advantages and functions, they still need to be improved and optimized in some aspects. For example, although Lingxi provides some practical functions such as voice assistants and voice search, compared to other online office platforms, its functions may still be incomplete, especially in terms of support for business applications and life scenarios. Knock, as an emerging intelligent assistant platform, may not have a stable experience, and users may encounter some difficulties in use, which requires the platform to continuously optimize and improve.
DingTalk, Lark, and WeChat Work have strong defensive barriers.
Whether it is Baidu RuLiu and Huawei WeLink, or NetEase Lingxi and Pinduoduo Knock, they all show strong appeal in the online office field with their own characteristics and advantages, and also bring many new variables to this battlefield. However, whenever online office is mentioned, it is inevitable to talk about the top players DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark, which means that other players who want to shake the online office market must face these three "tigers." Moreover, DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark have been deeply involved in the industry for many years and are one of the leading intelligent office platforms in China, making it not easy for other players to surpass.
In terms of user volume, DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark have accumulated a large number of customer resources with the advantage of being the first to enter the market, and it will take some time for other products to catch up. According to the latest data released by the third-party organization QuestMobile, in April 2023, the MAU (monthly active user count) of collaborative office apps remained high: DingTalk MAU was 199 million, ranking first, WeChat Work was 102 million, ranking second, and Lark was about 120 million. Although other platforms also have the support of top internet companies and have their own massive office needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, there is still a certain gap compared to the user volume of DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark.
In terms of product form, DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark have innovative work methods and strong collaboration functions, and it is predictable how difficult it is for other products to form a differentiated advantage. Although DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark are in the same track, they have taken different paths. DingTalk adheres to the bottom-level thinking and focuses more on management; WeChat Work is people-oriented, playing the role of a "connector"; Lark maintains its tool attributes and is committed to collaboration, with three distinct and deep accumulations. Latercomers who want to win the favor of enterprise customers can only launch more intelligent, personalized, and closer to customer needs products, which is not easy to achieve.
In terms of market position, DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark have a significant influence in the online office field, and it is not easy for other products to have the same voice. Lark is popular among innovative enterprises and teams pursuing flexibility; WeChat Work has also shown great potential in industries such as retail and finance; not to mention, DingTalk's intelligent office features have made it the leading position in the entire online office field. From any perspective, the current popularity and influence of these three in enterprise customers are continuously increasing, and it is difficult for other players to easily shake the industry status of these three.DingTalk, WeChat Work, and Lark, although leading online office platforms in China, also have some issues that cannot be ignored. For instance, DingTalk's interface is relatively complex, which may require a certain amount of time and effort to adapt to and learn, inevitably leading to significant learning costs. WeChat Work's functionality is not as rich and comprehensive as personal WeChat, so it may be lacking in integration with other office software and in feature expansion. Compared to the former two, Lark's user experience may still need further optimization and improvement, and more effort is needed in the processing and storage of user data.
Competitors and Development Forces
In fact, the development of online office in China has attracted many internet giants. As new players continue to enter this field, it is foreseeable that the industry competition will become more intense in the future. However, it is important to note that competition is not entirely a bad thing. With the entry of new players like Baidu's Like, Huawei's WeLink, NetEase's Lingxi, and Pinduoduo's Knock, the online office field will also burst forth with more new possibilities.
On one hand, the competition among giants in the online office field can force each platform to innovate continuously. For online office platforms, in addition to user experience, product innovation is also a key competitive strategy. Therefore, to maintain market competitiveness, each online office platform will innovate by continuously introducing new technologies, expanding new scenarios, adding new services, and strengthening security. The emergence of Like, WeLink, Lingxi, and Knock may bring a different approach to the increasingly fierce "three strong enterprise office competition" and can also stimulate the online office industry to move towards a deeper level of development.
On the other hand, continuous competition in the online office market is beneficial for the continuous optimization of customer experience. From a business perspective, customer needs are the ultimate battlefield of competition because the real competition is not only in the direct confrontation of product functions but also in how to meet customer needs through services, security, and experience. Therefore, the essence of competition is the customer. Once a platform becomes dominant, it is easy to neglect the customer experience. With new players entering the field, each platform will try its best to meet user needs in order to retain customers, which can also improve enterprise work efficiency and competitiveness while winning more user recognition and trust.
In summary, the various players in the online office field are competitors but also forces for development. They have formed a diverse and coexisting competitive pattern with their own characteristics and advantages. This competition will undoubtedly promote the online office market to move towards higher goals. However, at present, top players like DingTalk have already accumulated a deep foundation, and other players like Baidu's Like want to become a real "disruptor," there is still a long way to go. Whether the future online office world will be dominated by one superpower with many strong players, a tripartite stand-off, or intensified chaos, only time can provide the answer.