Once you’ve made the move into Microsoft 365 there are a multitude of tools available for collaboration with internal and external parties, including SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and OneDrive.  But….what should you use when?

“What to use when” is one of the forever trending topics in the Microsoft Tech Community sites.  Why? There are many ways to collaborate and there is no one size fits all solution.  Ten years ago, the de facto standard was SharePoint, but now we have many other choices including Teams, OneDrive, Yammer, and more.

Business and IT leaders are in sync in their drive to improve the way their organization operates and the way their staff works using the Microsoft 365 platform. Ensuring success is a joint effort that requires participation from both sides of the house.  IT typically implements the technology, owns the platform, and provides tools to the organization, but without business participation, it’s difficult for IT to determine what tool is best suited to support the way a division or department operates, communicates, and collaborates.  And while the business knows how they work and the efficiencies they are seeking to gain, they may not necessarily have deep knowledge of each tool’s features, benefits, and limitations.  Clearly, there is a gap in understanding what to use when.

To oversimplify when to use SharePoint, Teams, and OneDrive, you can think of it in these terms:

SharePoint

Large groups or entire organization needs access.  Includes corporate-wide document libraries, department sites, publishing sites, Communication sites/intranets.

Microsoft Teams

Smaller groups of people, usually teams or project-based, who are working together on files, having meetings, scheduling tasks, etc.

OneDrive

Personal file storage for individual use or before they are ready for sharing.

On the Microsoft Tech Community site, many visualizations of what to use when can be found.  I especially like this Infographic, posted by Vivian Garcia, which maps user stories to the tool best suited in the platform:

Microsoft 365 What to Use When Vivian Garcia

Within these very broad descriptions, however, there are hundreds of use cases that really should be explored at a deeper level to determine how best to adapt the Microsoft 365 platform to suit your needs.

Invest in Planning for Success

At Compass365, we offer  Workplace Collaboration services including Assessment and Roadmap Planning, which is structured to ensure your collaboration, document management, and communication needs are being met in the most efficient way possible. If you are new to Microsoft 365 or want to take a more strategic look at how these tools have been utilized so far, we can help.

Compass365 Workplace Collaboration Assessment and Roadmap Planning

If you are seeking expertise to help you begin, improve or expand your Microsoft 365 collaboration journey, reach out to me at cashbaugh@compass365.com to arrange for a complimentary consultation.

Compass365, a Microsoft Gold Partner, delivers SharePoint, Microsoft Teams, and Power Platform solutions that help IT and Business leaders improve the way their organizations operate and how their employees work.