In this guide, you will find instructions on when and why to use Teams, OneDrive and SharePoint.

Teams

When you have a document in ODFB (OneDrive for Business) that you’d like others to see or edit, or you’d like to freely brainstorm with a few of your colleagues, that is when it is time to move things over to Teams.

Microsoft Teams is all about enhancing communication and collaboration. It is best to use Teams when you’d like to work with your colleagues in real time. This way, you can work on documents together and chat through ideas as you go, boosting efficiency and productivity along the way. With Teams, you and your coworkers can talk about your most important projects and join forces whether you’re in the same room or halfway across the world.

This is your Inner Circle, so the documents you are sharing should be kept within your team. If you’d like to share your project with the rest of the organization, then it is time to take it to another tool.

OneDrive

OneDrive for Business is a Microsoft cloud service that connects users to all of their files. It is your own web-based workspace where you can store any and all personal business documents. Each user receives 1 TB of storage - which is plenty of room for documents and other typical business files.

While ODFB does allow for co-authoring and versioning, it is important to remember to mainly use ODFB documents in personal scenarios or with a limited few. If you’re preparing a document that isn’t quite yet ready to be shared with the team, save it for later with ODFB. But if you need to bring in more users or use project sharing, the documents must be moved to either Teams or SharePoint to avoid accidentally leaking sensitive or personal information.

Another great feature of ODFB is that you can work offline, if needed.

SharePoint

For sharing documents with larger groups, such as whole departments or even your entire organization, it is best to use SharePoint. SharePoint is a collaboration and document management platform within Microsoft 365 that places a large emphasis on functionality, making it the ideal choice for sharing information with large numbers of users.

SharePoint is the best option for rolling out new company policies, posting important HR updates, and notifying employees of upcoming team trainings. It is a great place to store these types of documents for your organization’s future reference, as well. This way, everyone knows where to look for past and future company information.