Microsoft Teams Governance Best Practices for Shared Channels

Shared Channels in MS Teams

When you want to collaborate with members in different departments or external users, shared channels can be useful. By default, shared channels are already enabled in MS Teams, but administrators can decide whether they can be created, shared externally, or participated in.

As an administrator, you can control what users can do in teams and channels by going to Teams > Teams policies in the Microsoft Teams admin center to either use the default global policies or create custom policies to be assigned to users.

The following policies are available:

• Create shared channels
  If set to ‘on’, owners can create shared channels, and Teams apps that are available for your organization are also available in shared channels.
• Invite external users to shared channels.
  If set to ‘on’, both owners and members of shared channels can invite external participants if cross-organization trust has been configured. Policies for your organization apply to these channels.
• Join external shared channels.
  If set to ‘on’, users can participate in shared channels created by other organizations if cross-organization trust has been configured. Policies for the external organization apply to these channels.

Shared channels are effective for external communication, but for your security, make sure you are monitoring who is able to create and join these channels.

Microsoft Teams Governance

Shared channels can be used for internal communications, but they are most often used for external communication, making the need to follow best practices that much more essential. By verifying that you are complying with Microsoft Teams governance best practices, you can ensure that everyone only has access to the data they need.

MS Teams helps manage group and team membership through:

• Entitlement management
  With entitlement management, a project manager can gather all resources that are needed into a single package, and they can also define which internal and external users are able to make requests. Administrators can also configure access conditions that include an expiry date when users will be removed from the team unless access is renewed.
• Access reviews
  Administrators can also set up access reviews which will give group owners regular reminders to review team membership, as well as recommendations to help guide them through the review process.

Make sure you consistently monitor who has access to your channels, especially shared channels, to keep your data secure and ensure you are meeting compliance requirements. Microsoft Teams is a great collaboration tool when used correctly, but governance must be kept top-of-mind.

Follow MS Teams Best Practices to Maintain a Secure Digital Workplace

Microsoft Teams is used daily for communication by a wide variety of organizations, making it more important than ever to ensure you are following Microsoft Teams governance best practices and only giving access to data to those who need it when they need it.

We understand that consistent monitoring of your channel policies and team access can get complicated, which is why we’re here to help! Klarinet Solutions is an expert in digital workplace solutions, so reach out to us with any concerns you have about your Microsoft Teams governance.