According to Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s chief executive, Teams is on its way to becoming a digital platform as significant as the internet browser, or a computer operating system.
The ultimate vision is collaboration tools, video meetings, chat and other business applications, all reached through a single user interface.
Microsoft has high hopes for Teams and it has become a very popular platform in the past couple of years. This has been amplified by the changes to working practices with the onset of Covid.
Microsoft Teams Sprawl
The same questions are being asked of Teams as they were of SharePoint, that is, how do we manage unrestricted growth.
So let’s take a step backwards here. If you expect Microsoft Teams sprawl then Teams is a success!
Firstly, sprawl indicates you have delivered a platform that you users are getting value from. Secondly and most importantly you are empowering your users to solve their own problems.
Consequently, a successful platform will result in organic growth and adoption.
So how do we protect our business while still empowering the end-users?
Teams Governance
The simple answer to protection is robust governance. However, governance should not be too restrictive so that it stops growth and adoption.
Luckily the Microsoft 365 platform provides many of the features we need to apply effective governance.
When planning Teams governance you should consider the following:
- Who should be able to create Teams?
- What naming convention will you apply?
- How long should a Team exist?
- What should happen to the data associated with a Team?
- How will you manage sensitive data?
- What is the best policy to allow external users into your Teams?
Teams can be a safe and effective self-service solution with the right governance in place.
Sprawl vs Organic Growth
So what is the difference between Microsoft Teams sprawl and organic growth?
Simply, sprawl is the growth of a platform without governance.
Organic growth is the managed growth of a platform.
It’s amazing what a little sprinkling of governance can do!
It’s still quite rare to roll out a platform that users really embrace.
Microsoft Teams has the potential to discourage shadow IT. Deploying a platform that empowers users to solve their own problems is a huge benefit to both IT and the business.
With a little governance, spawl is replaced by healthy organic growth.
