Nine of the best enterprise collaboration software tools 2016: Slack, Workplace, Sharepoint and more

The social media juggernaut recently made its move from the private sphere into the professional one with the launch of Workplace.

Workplace combines the familiar Facebook interface and functions including Messenger chat and the news feed with new tools including a dashboard with analytics.

Workplace costs $3 (£2.45) for each of the first 1,000 monthly active users, $2 (£1.63) per employee from 1,001 to 10,000 users and $1 (£0.82) for every additional user.

Microsoft entered the enterprise collaboration market with the £752 million purchase of Yammer in 2012.

Yammer lets companies compile messages, files and updates in a single destination and boots information sharing through conversation groups. Users can interact in either open public groups or private ones for sharing sensitive information.

Yammer's Enterprise Standalone costs $3 (£2.45) per month for each user. The Office 365 for Business version starts at a monthly fee of $5 (£4.08) per user.

File management is one of the big strengths of Huddle. Users can control document approvals, share files, collaborate on content and manage projects on the cloud collaboration platform.

At $20 (£16.35) for each user per month for the "Essential" package and $40 (£32.70) for the "Plus" version, Huddle is at the pricier end of the market, but it does come with an impressive array of features.

Slack's real-time messaging across an attractive interface and easy integration with familiar applications such as Skype, Google Drive and Twitter makes it a user-friendly choice for workplace communication.

The products costs $6.67 (£5.45) per user for the "Standard" service and $12.50 (£10.21) for the "Plus" package. Slack is also available in a free trial version for companies, but services such as unlimited message storage and group phone calls are not included.

London startup LoopUp has become the go-to platform for conference calls. Users can see who is speaking in real-time and have no need to dial into the call, while call leaders can mute participants when necessary.

LoopUp offers two pricing structures for customers: a pay-as-you-go option with cost dependent on volume of minutes or a licence fee per month, with the price negotiable based on number of licences.

The Spark messaging service includes text, voice, video, text, and content sharing options which can all be divided into individual "Rooms" for each separate conversation. It also offers integration with Cisco phones and products and free guest support.

Cisco Spark offers three separate pricing plans, each charging a monthly fee per user. The $9 (£7.35) "Basic" package includes video calling, voice messaging, mobility, business call messaging, 1:1 and 3-party video calling with screen sharing and the chance to join Spark and SIP-based meeting.

A $15 (£12.25) "Standard" service and $30 (£24.50) "Premium" option each add some extra features.

One of the earliest entries in the enterprise collaboration market was Chatter, which Salesforce released in 2010. Chatter offers user profiles and groups and lets you share information, access Salesforce files and post comments as status updates which are displayed on a news feed.

Chatter is free for all Salesforce users, and is also available to non-Salesforce users for $15 (£12.25) per user per month. The price includes the Salesforce content library, the ideas and answers features of Salesforce CRM, read-only access to accounts and contacts, and the Force.com platform.

Jive's interactive intranet software provides real-time communication and collaboration though live activity streams, groups, discussions and blogs. Documents can be edited and read in real-time by multiple users and interactions assessed with in-built analytics capabilities.

The level of functionality available depends on which package is purchased. Jive's monthly cost per user is $5 (£4.08) for the "Select" package, $9 (£7.35) for "Premier" and $16 (£13.06) for "Premier+".

SharePoint provides a long list of powerful collaboration features that go far beyond enterprise social networking and was recently overhauled by Microsoft to compete with more user-friendly alternatives that prioritise communication.

The customisation and variety of functions available through the Sharepoint document management and storage systems remain its biggest selling point. Sharepoint is available in three different packages, at £3.10, £6.20 or £14.70 for each monthly user.