Microsoft Teams - Group Chat VS a Team
A common question we are asked in Microsoft 365 training is 'How do I know if I need a group chat or a Team? Let’s break it down to help make the decision easier.
What is a Team in Microsoft Teams?
A Team can be utilised to keep all communication, files (SharePoint) and apps in one place for a group of people. To get the most out of this functionality, a typical organisation will have Teams for each department and several ad-hoc Teams for projects.
A Team is organised using Channels. A Channel is primarily used for messaging and file sharing, to help organise conversations and files by topic.
The ‘Posts’ section of a Channel is used for messaging. Each post has replies grouped with it, making it easier to catch up on conversations.
A Team is perfect for long-term projects and collaboration.
What is a Group Chat in Microsoft Teams?
A group chat is useful for messaging a small group of people for short-term tasks. They are commonly used for private conversations, that don’t need to be shared in a Team.
Key differences between a group chat and a Team;
A Team is organised using Channels a group chat is a singular
Messages in a chat cannot be organised into posts, whereas replies to a Channel’s post stay attached to the original message. This way, the whole thread of the conversation can be easily followed.
A Team comes with a SharePoint Site for file sharing, a Chat doesn’t.
In Conclusion
If you want somewhere to send messages to a small group of people and you don’t need a SharePoint Site, then a group chat should do the job. A group chat can have up to 250 members, but keep in mind the messages aren’t organised into posts/threads, so the bigger the group, the harder it is to keep track of conversations.
On the other hand, if you want to organise communication and file sharing for your team or a project then a Team would be the best option to keep a secure space for communication and collaboration.
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