Microsoft Teams serves as a centralized hub for internal company communication, document sharing, and idea generation. Some businesses have begun to question SharePoint’s continued relevance as a result. Some businesses have questioned whether or not switching to Microsoft Teams instead of SharePoint intranet is a) feasible, and b) the superior choice.
Microsoft Teams’ potential as a SharePoint replacement is clear, and it’s easy to see how the notion would have been conceived. But the question remains if Microsoft Teams can fully replace your intranet. So, to find out how SharePoint and teams stack up against one another, let’s take a look at their respective functions.
What Distinguishes Microsoft Teams Apart from SharePoint?
Similarly, to an intranet, Microsoft Teams serves numerous primary purposes. Messages, meetings, files, and schedules are all easily accessible from the Microsoft Teams interface. The capabilities of the Microsoft Teams app can be expanded by integrating with other applications.
SharePoint, on the other hand, is a Microsoft 365 service used for internal file sharing and website creation. It’s used by businesses as a centralized hub for internal communication and document storage. When it comes to designing, deploying, and customizing the SharePoint intranet, many businesses opt to use a third-party solution.
What Makes SharePoint a Superior Microsoft Intranet Solution Over Teams?
It’s simple to see how Microsoft Teams might begin functioning similarly to an internal network. When comparing SharePoint with Teams, however, it becomes clear that Microsoft’s offering is lacking in key areas necessary for a functional corporate intranet and is unlikely to develop these areas in the near future. Microsoft Teams lacks article and blog publishing capabilities, making it more difficult to disseminate company news and information. Unlike a company intranet, Microsoft Teams gives you much less say over the user experience.
However, this does not mean that Microsoft Teams has no function within a SharePoint-based company network. Moreover, teams and SharePoint aren’t competing against one another. The best answer, in our opinion, is a unified digital workplace that combines Microsoft Teams with your company’s SharePoint intranet. The employee experience will improve even more with the incorporation of Microsoft Viva products like Viva Engage and Viva Connections.
What Are the Upsides of Combining Teams with SharePoint?
There’s no use in wasting time deciding between Microsoft Teams and SharePoint as your intranet when you can get the best of both worlds by integrating them. When used to its intended use, Microsoft Teams is a helpful tool that can improve the efficiency of your company’s intranet.
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Productivity Boost
An intranet’s primary function is to facilitate discoverability or the ease with which your staff can find the information they need. With a SharePoint-based intranet, staff members can quickly find the files and information they need, regardless of where they happen to be. This feature is missing from Teams.
Of course, by combining Microsoft Teams and SharePoint, you may enjoy the advantages of both platforms. When a document is shared in Microsoft Teams, it is automatically saved to a SharePoint site that is associated with that team and is categorized according to the channel in which it was shared. To access these files in SharePoint, simply navigate to the Files tab of the relevant channel.
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Stronger Participation & Better Engagement
Corporate intranets facilitate the dissemination of information, such as company announcements and updates, from upper management to employees. However, it is uncommon for an intranet to provide two-way communication, where employees could share their thoughts with upper management. For a company to run smoothly, this kind of input is crucial. With Microsoft Teams integrated into your SharePoint intranet, your staff will have a central location from which to voice their opinions and suggestions.
With Microsoft Teams, you can boost teamwork by facilitating more effective group and one-on-one communication. Using MS Teams, workers can do more than just share documents and work together on them; they can also have in-depth conversations about their projects, solicit and respond to criticism, and more.
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Brand Visibility
Unlike corporate intranets, Microsoft Teams does not allow for a branded user experience to be developed. A company’s intranet should feel like logging into a digital extension of the office. If you’re considering Microsoft Teams as a substitute for your intranet, your staff will not have this experience.
And you can’t make specialized experiences for various user demographics when you utilize Microsoft Teams as an intranet. In the course of their workday, a sales staff, for instance, must frequently consult several accounting data sets. When using an intranet for your company, you can change the default display for each division to better suit its needs.
It is important to note that the time and money required for SharePoint customization and targeted messages can add up quickly. However, you need not worry if you use a third-party solution (like Powell Intranet, for instance) to create and launch an intranet that is consistent with your company’s image and effectively distributes information to the appropriate employees.
Is There a Simple Method to Streamline the Creation & Rollout of Your SharePoint Intranet?
The expense of running an intranet remains a possible barrier for some firms. Although intranets are remarkably famous as a tool that assist your company cut overall expenditures by streamlining procedures and enhancing efficiency. The following are a few suggestions for cutting back on such expenses.
Pick An Off-The-Shelf Intranet Solution
As corporate intranets have become increasingly popular, there are many ready-mades and ‘out-of-the-box’ solutions available in the market. You can use these solutions for your company with minimal effort and technical assistance from your managed IT service provider. These virtual workplaces require little in the way of resources to initiate and maintain. With the intranet solution from Powell Intranet, you can easily connect Microsoft Teams with your company’s internal communication system.
The End Goal Is A Paperless Office
SharePoint and MS Teams are not competing against each other. Is Microsoft Teams an alternative to internal networks? Ultimately, that’s not the case. It’s inevitable that when a company expands, it will outgrow Microsoft Teams and need to switch to a more robust intranet solution like SharePoint.
Curious as to how a third-party intranet solution, such as Powell Intranet, might assist you in developing the most effective SharePoint intranet? Talk to our SharePoint experts now. Click here to connect.
