Should You Connect SharePoint to Microsoft Teams? Here’s When It Works — and When It Doesn’t
If your company uses Microsoft 365, chances are you’ve got both SharePoint and Teams running side by side. And maybe you’ve already noticed that they’re not totally separate — in fact, when someone spins up a new Team, there’s usually a SharePoint site quietly created in the background.
This overlap is intentional. Microsoft built Teams on top of SharePoint Online. That’s why a tighter connection between the two often makes sense. But — and this is a big one — just because Teams can work with SharePoint, doesn’t mean it always should.
Let’s walk through where that integration helps, and where it might cause more headaches than it solves.
So What Does the Integration Actually Do?
It’s more than just syncing files. When you link SharePoint to Teams, here’s what happens behind the curtain:
– Every channel in a Team gets a matching folder inside a SharePoint document library.
– Shared files in Teams? They’re really stored in SharePoint — even if most users don’t notice.
– You can jump between Teams and the full SharePoint site with a single click if you need more options.
– Some SharePoint features — document versioning, tagging, permissions — show up directly in Teams, so you don’t have to leave the app.
And that’s not even mentioning the extra stuff — Power Automate flows, metadata tagging, integration with Power Apps. It’s all there, quietly doing its thing.
Why Would You Even Want to Do This?
A few reasons come up often:
– People are tired of jumping between tabs and apps. Having chats, documents, and tasks all in one place? Huge win.
– For remote teams, SharePoint Online + Teams is a cleaner setup than local file shares or VPN tunnels.
– Managing access becomes simpler when it’s tied to Microsoft 365 Groups — no more digging into SharePoint’s messy permission screens every time someone joins a project.
– And let’s be honest: running old on-prem SharePoint gets expensive and clunky fast.
That said, not every SharePoint setup is ready to live inside Teams.
Where It Works (and Where It Really Doesn’t)
This is where things get nuanced. A “SharePoint site” could mean anything from a simple folder system to a heavily customized intranet full of workflows and embedded apps. And Teams isn’t built to handle every case.
✅ When Integration Makes Sense:
– The SharePoint site is mostly used for basic document collaboration
– You’re not relying on a bunch of custom layouts or legacy features
– Users are already working in Teams day-to-day
– You want a lightweight way to give people access to files and lists
🛑 When It’s Probably a Bad Fit:
– You’ve built advanced Power Apps into SharePoint pages
– Workflows still rely on SharePoint Designer or other legacy tools
– The site needs access to on-prem systems or custom APIs
– Page layouts are heavily branded with third-party add-ins
A Hybrid Setup Might Be the Sweet Spot
Not everything needs to live in Teams. And that’s fine.
In many companies, the smart move is to keep heavy-duty SharePoint pages right where they are — but pull them into Teams as needed. You can add a SharePoint page as a tab in a Team. Or link to a specific document library. It gives users one place to look, without breaking the stuff that already works.
This middle ground works surprisingly well.
Linking SharePoint with Teams can make life easier — but only when it’s done with a bit of planning. For basic collaboration? It’s a no-brainer. For deeply customized SharePoint environments? You need to pause and think.
Start by asking: what’s the actual use case? Is this about convenience? Workflow? Security? Remote access?
Then — and only then — decide whether integration will help… or just add another layer of confusion.