Many Flemish SMEs today do everything in Teams. Chatting, meeting, collaborating and… saving files. That feels logical. Everything is together, everyone finds it easy, and Microsoft 365 is “one entity”, right?
Yet this is where remarkably many companies go wrong. Not tomorrow, but within six to twelve months. Files disappear, versions are no longer correct, new employees cannot see the wood for the trees, and when a colleague leaves, crucial information is “suddenly” gone.
Let’s be honest right away: Teams is not a file server. And those who use it that way are unwittingly building a problem. The good news? Microsoft 365 does have the right tools. You just need to deploy them correctly.
Why Teams is so often abused as a file server
The reason is simple: Teams feels like the central workspace. You create a team, click “Files” and everything seems neatly saved. No separate login, no extra explanation.
For small teams, that works… temporarily. But something else is happening under the hood. Teams displays files but does not manage them like a classic file server. Structure, rights and longevity are determined implicitly, without anyone making conscious choices.
The result? Teams becomes a repository of documents with no clear logic. What is convenient today becomes a drag on efficient work tomorrow.
What Teams technically does with files
An important misunderstanding needs to be cleared up here. Files in Microsoft Teams are not “in Teams.” Each Team and Channel structure automatically creates an underlying document library in SharePoint. So Teams is a window, not a storage layer.
Meaning:
- Each channel = a folder structure in SharePoint
- Private channels = separate sites with separate rights
- If you delete a team, the underlying storage also disappears
Those who do not know this are making decisions in Teams that unintentionally have major implications for data and continuity.
The specific risks for SMEs
These are not theories, but problems we encounter almost weekly.
First, unclear structure. Teams is built around conversations, not filing. Files follow chats, not processes. That clashes with how businesses work.
Second, permissions that derail. Adding an employee to a team often gives more access than intended. Conversely, files disappear when someone leaves and their team is cleared out.
Third, no long-term management. Teams has no classic archival logic. Projects stop, but data remains lying around or is accidentally deleted.
Fourth, poor scalability. What works with ten people breaks at thirty. New colleagues don’t know where anything is and make copies “just to be sure.”
Why a file server thinking model clashes with Teams
A file server is all about stability: fixed folders, clear owners, predictable permissions. Teams is all about collaboration: temporary teams, conversations, quick exchange. These are two different logics. As soon as you force Teams into a file server role, you lose grip. Not because Teams is bad, but because it wasn’t designed for that.
So what you should use in Microsoft 365
Microsoft 365 already has the answer ready, as long as you divide the roles correctly.
SharePoint is your central document platform.
That’s where you build:
- clear directory structures by department or process
- fixed permissions that do not depend on chat groups
- document management with version history and metadata
SharePoint is where documents “live,” regardless of temporary collaborations.
OneDrive is personal.
This is your digital desktop. Work files, drafts, personal notes. Anything not already to be shared.
OneDrive is neither an archive nor a team storage. It is your workspace.
Teams remains what it should be:
- communication
- consultation
- rapid collaboration around existing documents
Teams shows files, but does not manage them structurally.
Proper role assignment in practice
- SharePoint as an established base for documents and knowledge.
- Teams as a collaborative layer on top of that structure.
- OneDrive as a personal workspace.
That doesn’t require complex IT, but it does require clear choices. And yes, also agreements within the company.
Why this is critical to your IT maturity
Companies that get this right quickly notice the difference. Less searching. Fewer mistakes. Less frustration with new employees. Those who ignore this pay the price later. Often only when it hurts: in audits, personnel changes or data loss. This is why this theme is also explicitly reflected in our broader approach to IT maturity. Structure before tooling. Always.
Next step: taking an honest look at your current situation
Are you using Teams as a file server today? Then that’s no reproach. Almost every SME starts out that way.
The question is not whether you are working “wrong,” but whether your environment is ready for growth. On our pillar page “Microsoft 365 happening correctly,” we show how choices like these make the difference between temporary solutions and a future-proof IT environment.
Doubting where your files really belong today?
A brief audit makes that painfully clear, but most importantly: solvable.
