The complex world of external sharing and access in Microsoft 365

(Updated 17 March 2023 with further details about Microsoft Entra settings and B2B Direct connect, see below). By default, external sharing and access is (mostly) enabled by default in Microsoft 365. Unless the settings have been changed in the various locations described below, end users can usually: Click the 'share' icon next to a folder …

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Where are the records in Microsoft 365?

One of the consequences of the (relatively sudden) requirement to work from home from early 2020, was that Microsoft 365 - primarily Outlook and Teams (with 'Files' or SharePoint and OneDrive for Business behind the scenes) - became the de facto system to create and capture 'unstructured' records. Unlike centralised electronic document and records management …

What happens when you delete or edit sent Teams chats and posts

Teams chats and channel posts are a bit of a problem to manage as records because it is not easy to capture them - either individually or as a thread. The most common solution is to screenshot them but this is hardly ideal. End-users may be able to delete or edit sent chats and posts. …

A basic retention model for Microsoft Teams

In my previous post about managing inactive Teams, the third option listed was to apply retention policies to those Teams. It included the graphic below. This post provides more details of a basic retention model that can be applied to both active and inactive Teams. Key takeaways Key takeaways from this post for records and …

Managing inactive Teams in Microsoft Teams

The rapid and often uncontrolled rollout of Microsoft (MS) Teams as part of Microsoft 365 (M365) deployments from early 2020 has become a headache for many records and information managers. In many organisations, inactive Teams - some with no owners and inaccessible to records managers - litter the M365 landscape. The introduction of private channels …

Different approaches for managing records with Microsoft 365

The COVID pandemic from early 2020 led to the requirement for many employees to work from home (WFH). IT Departments scrambled to enable this capability, many making use of Microsoft (MS) Teams that was already bundled with their Microsoft 365 licences. The rapid enabling and uptake (rather than an actual 'implementation') of MS Teams was …

A decision tree for managing records in SharePoint and Teams

One of the first things to understand, when managing records in Microsoft 365, is where the records are stored. Generally speaking, most records will be stored in either (a) Exchange mailboxes (which also store the 'compliance copies' of Teams chats) or (b) SharePoint sites (including sites linked with MS Teams). Some emails may be copied …

Understanding permission groups in Teams and SharePoint

One of the most confusing aspects of Teams and SharePoint in Microsoft 365 is the relationship between permission groups used to control access to both of these resources. This is especially the case as every Team in MS Teams has an associated SharePoint site (the 'Files' tab). This post explains how permission groups work between …

Renaming Microsoft 365 Teams, Groups, Mailboxes and SharePoint sites

During 2020, many organisations rolled out Microsoft Teams to support the need for employees to work from home (WFH) without paying much attention to the way Teams were named. A reminder that when a new Team is created, it creates a Microsoft 365 (M365) Group. Every M365 Group has a SharePoint site (visible from the …

All the ways SharePoint sites can be created

SharePoint is a core foundational element in Microsoft 365. It is primarily used for the storage of digital objects (including pages) in document libraries and rows and columns of data in lists. It is ubiquitous and almost impossible to remove from a Microsoft 365 licence because it 'powers' so many different things. While the idea …