Teams and SharePoint work together. According to Microsoft's page on how SharePoint and OneDrive interact with Teams, "a Teams-connected site is created automatically whenever you create a team," and each team's membership is stored in a Microsoft 365 group that also gives access to the team's SharePoint site. Files dropped into Teams are therefore saved in SharePoint, with that group's permissions.
Short answer
You describe your files, your teams and how you work: your request is reviewed by the Courtier TI team, then entrusted to the IT services company that will prepare your quote. The structure and sharing rules are set with you.
What the quote should cover
- An analysis of the current file server: folders, volume, permissions and files to archive
- A proposed structure of SharePoint sites, Teams teams and channels
- A permission model based on groups rather than individuals
- Rules for sharing with clients, suppliers and guests
- File migration, with a pre-scan and testing
- Employee training and a guide to usage rules
- Support after cutover and handling of requests for new sites
Design the structure before migrating
Copying an old server's folders as is into a single Teams team reproduces the same problems, and makes searching harder. The structure comes first: which sites for which departments or projects, which Teams teams for collaboration, and which channels inside each team.
In its description of SharePoint limits, Microsoft recommends "creating sites and organizing them into hubs instead of creating subsites." The same page states that a file's entire path, including the file name, can't contain more than 400 characters: a deep folder tree inherited from a file server often needs to be simplified before migration.
What a SharePoint and Teams project involves
- Inventory: where the files are, who uses them, what is active and what can be archived.
- Structure: sites, teams, channels and libraries, with naming rules.
- Permissions: owners, members and visitors, managed through groups.
- External sharing: what can be shared, with whom and how.
- Migration: pre-scan, trial with a pilot group, then migration in waves.
- Adoption: training, a simple guide and a support period after cutover.
Permissions and external sharing
According to Microsoft's page on sharing and permissions in SharePoint, each team site is part of a Microsoft 365 group by default, and its permissions should ideally be managed through that group or the associated Teams team. Private and shared channels create their own SharePoint sites, with separate members. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security's baseline cyber security controls call for provisioning accounts with the minimum functionality necessary (BC.12.1) and removing access employees no longer need (BC.12.3).
External sharing is set at the organization level and for each site. Microsoft states that when the two settings don't match, "the most restrictive value always applies," and recommends storing confidential information in a site that has external sharing turned off, creating extra sites as needed for external sharing.
Migrating the file server
Microsoft offers, for example, Migration Manager, located in the SharePoint admin center, to migrate file shares to Microsoft 365. According to Microsoft, it supports prescans and file exclusions, among other features. Other tools exist; what matters is that the quote describes the method, the pre-scan, error handling and post-migration checks.
Also plan what happens to current permissions: reproduce them one by one or start over with a simpler group-based model. And decide what to do with the old server after cutover: read-only for a period, archiving, then decommissioning.
Questions to ask yourself before requesting a quote
- Where are your files today: on-site server, network drive, computers, another cloud service?
- Which departments or projects need separate spaces?
- Who should see what, and which folders hold confidential or personal information?
- Do you share files with clients, suppliers or subcontractors?
- Do you already use Teams, and how?
- Who will approve the creation of new teams and sites?
Risks and pitfalls to avoid
- Migrating without cleaning up: duplicate files, outdated versions and abandoned folders
- Letting everyone create teams with no naming rule or designated owner
- Granting permissions person by person, which becomes impossible to track
- Opening external sharing across the organization without knowing where sensitive information is
- Skipping training: without it, employees keep sending attachments and keeping local copies
What to specify in your request
- The number of users and your current Microsoft 365 licences
- The location and approximate volume of the files to migrate
- The departments, teams or projects to structure
- Your needs for sharing outside the company
- Sensitive folders or those subject to specific rules
- The training you want: sessions, guide, support after cutover
- Any software that opens files directly on the current server
You can then describe your project: the team will contact you to clarify your needs and provide a quote.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between SharePoint and Teams?
Teams is for collaboration: chats, meetings and channels. SharePoint is for storing and organizing files. According to Microsoft, each Teams team is connected to one or more SharePoint sites where its files are stored.
Should we keep our file server?
Not always. If the server is used only for file sharing, SharePoint and Teams can replace it. Some business applications, however, need a network folder or a local database. In that case, those components can stay on a server, on site or in the cloud, while shared files move to SharePoint.
Can we share files with clients safely?
Yes, if the rules are clear. Microsoft recommends storing confidential information in a site where external sharing is turned off and creating other sites for external collaboration. Also decide whether links that work without signing in are allowed.
Will our current permissions be kept?
They can be, but keeping them as is is rarely desirable. An old server often accumulates exceptions. The migration is a good opportunity to move to group-managed permissions, which are simpler to review.
Is employee training necessary?
It is strongly advised. Without guidance, employees don't know where to save a file, or when to use a channel rather than a chat. A short training session and a guide to internal rules make adoption easier.