You can store and share files using SharePoint, OneDrive, and Microsoft Teams. SharePoint underpins each of these tools, but each can be used in its own ways to accelerate collaboration and efficiency in different situations. 

Microsoft Teams icon Microsoft Teams

When you are collaborating in real-time, it is a great time-saver to easily access files that are important to your project.  Files shared on Microsoft Teams are available right where you are having conversations and meetings, and your team can own them together. Documents shared in Microsoft Teams are stored in SharePoint, so you get the best of both worlds.

You can communicate through threaded and persistent chat and keep everyone in the know. In Microsoft Teams, you can also privately chat with any contact, even when they are offline. With persistent conversation history, you can start and continue exchanges at any time. Use private chat to coauthor a document in real-time and to continue collaborating after a call. You can even pin important chats for easy retrieval.

Teams can be public or private.  Public teams are open to anyone in your organization. Membership in private teams is managed. 

Learn more about Microsoft Teams.

Microsoft SharePoint icon SharePoint

Every Teams channel has a SharePoint team site, and every SharePoint team site has a Teams channel. SharePoint is great for storing files in the cloud and making them accessible to a broad audience. And you can take advantage of robust file permission management, document process flows, retention policies, and more. Here are ways to work with SharePoint:

  • Collaborate on files in Teams, create pages, use a shared notebook, and use the integrated Office 365 group to bring together conversations, calendars, and tasks.
  • Spread ownership and permissions across a wider collection of people. If a document is important to the success of a project, it’s a good idea for there to be people other than yourself who can control what happens on the site.
  • Grant permissions on a site basis, instead of on individual documents. If people have access to the team site, then they have access to documents stored on the site.
  • Create attractive and effective site pages to organize information, post news, provide contact information, and provide navigation to documents, media, and other types of information.

Learn more about SharePoint.

Microsoft OneDrive icon OneDrive

Personal files or documents that only you are working on can be securely stored on OneDrive. Think of it as your personal repository – a cloud version of My Documents. Files are always in sync and available to access even when you are offline. With OneDrive, your files are always with you and ready to share. In terms of longevity, OneDrive is great for work in progress. Here are some examples of how you can take advantage of OneDrive: 

  • You want to share individual files with just a few people, or not share at all.

Documents you place in OneDrive are private until you share them. You can share files individually and work on Office documents with others at the same time. This makes OneDrive for work or school a great option for draft documents that no one else needs to see. For example, you are writing a blog post that may not be associated with a project, and you would like a few colleagues to review it before you post it. In this case, you expect people to use the document once without needing additional storage or context information. All they need is a link to the document and editing permission. Additionally, you can comment on documents and use the @-sign with someone's name, and the person you mention receives mail with a link to your comment.