Using Teams and SharePoint smartly within Microsoft 365

What is Microsoft Teams meant to do?

Microsoft Teams is built for collaboration in the moment.

It’s all about communication and quick alignment within a team or project.

Consider:

• Chatting with colleagues
• Online meetings
• Quickly share files within a conversation
• Collaborate from context, e.g., a project or consultation

Teams works well when everything is about speed and interaction. You want to discuss something, modify it and move on immediately.

What Teams does less well is act as an archive or long-term storage.

 

What is SharePoint meant to do?

SharePoint is set up for structure and continuity.

It is the central place for information you want to find even months or years from now.

SharePoint is strong in:

• Central document management
• Using metadata instead of just folders
• Rights and access management
• Version control
• Document sets for files or projects

With document sets, you keep everything that belongs to a file together. Contracts, attachments, emails and notes. Without endless folder structures.

This makes SharePoint suitable as the memory of your organization.

 

Where do things often go wrong in practice?

In many organizations, we see Teams and SharePoint being used interchangeably.

• Files get stuck in chats
• Teams channels are used as archives
• Document sets are not deployed
• Everyone creates their own folder structure
• The consequence is predictable.
• Employees search for information longer
• Files exist in multiple versions
• Uncertainty about what the correct version is
• Loss of overview and ownership

This takes time, creates frustration and increases the risk of error.

 

Proper role assignment between Teams and SharePoint

A clear separation helps.

Use Teams for:

• Consultation and communication
• Daily collaboration
• Quickly share and discuss files
• Project-based alignment

Use SharePoint for:

• Final documents
• Files and projects of longer duration
• Information that is organization-wide relevant
• Archiving and compliance

Teams then remains the workplace. SharePoint becomes the resource.

 

How do you practically set this up?

Start with agreements, not technique.

Determine together:

• Where do we store final documents?
• When do we move files from Teams to SharePoint?
• What metadata do we use?
• Who owns which document or file?

After that, make sure the facility supports it.

Consider:

• Logical SharePoint sites by department or process
• Document sets for recurring files or projects
• Clear rights structure
• Training for users

 

What does this yield?

Organizations that intentionally deploy Teams and SharePoint notice an immediate difference.

• Less search time
• More overview
• Fewer errors due to version issues
• Better transferability of work
• More peace of mind in the digital work environment

 

The ALTA-ICT approach

At ALTA-ICT, we help organizations set up Microsoft 365 logically and workably.

No complex models, but clear choices that fit how people work.

Our approach:

• Analysis of current mode of operation
• Clear division of roles between Teams and SharePoint
• Smart setup with document sets and metadata
• Guidance and adoption for users
• Always with an eye on AVG, structure and continuity.

 

How did you arrange this?

With you, is Teams a workplace or also an archive?

Is SharePoint really used for structure, or primarily as storage?

We are curious about your experiences.