If you use Microsoft Teams every day, chances are you have run into moments like these:
- You send a file in a chat but can’t find it when you need it.
- You create a new channel, and suddenly there is a SharePoint folder, but you’re not sure why.
- You share a document, only to realise it’s now visible to the whole team.
These aren’t just small annoyances, but they highlight a deeper issue. Most people know that Teams connects with SharePoint and OneDrive, but few understand how the system works behind the scenes.
That confusion adds up. According to Microsoft’s 2023 Work Trend Index, employees now spend more than half their time communicating and coordinating across tools, not doing focused work. It’s no surprise that misplaced files and duplicated effort are common.
What Microsoft Teams Actually Is
Microsoft Teams is a collaboration and communication platform designed to centralise how businesses work together. Launched in 2017 as part of Microsoft 365, it has rapidly become a core workspace for organisations of all sizes, from startups to global enterprises.
At its heart, Teams brings everything into one place: messaging, meetings, file sharing, video calls, and business apps. Instead of juggling email threads, shared drives, and third-party tools, your team can communicate and collaborate within a single interface.
Core Features in Microsoft Teams:
- Chat: Instant messaging between individuals or groups, with support for rich text, emojis, GIFs, and file attachments.
- Meetings: Video and audio calls with integrated calendars, screen sharing, live captions, and meeting recordings.
- Calls: VoIP-based calls, internally and externally, especially when connected to Microsoft Teams Phone.
- File sharing & collaboration: Upload, edit, and co-author Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents directly inside Teams.
- Apps & integrations: Add productivity tools like Planner, OneNote, Power BI, or third-party apps (e.g., Trello, Salesforce) directly into your Channels.
How Microsoft Teams Is Organised? (See Screenshot as Example)
In Microsoft Teams, everything is structured around two key elements: Teams and Channels.
1. Teams (See “Marketing” in the screenshot)
A Team in Microsoft Teams is simply a shared workspace for people who regularly work together. It might be set up around a:
- Department – like Marketing or Sales
- Function – such as IT Support
- Project – like a Website Redesign or Product Launch
In the example:
The Marketing Team shown in the screenshot is an example of a department-based Team. It acts as a central hub where everyone involved in marketing-related work can communicate, share files, and manage tasks.
Each Team has assigned members, with roles that define their level of access and control:
- Owners – manage settings, permissions, and membership.
→ For example, Michael Johnson and Sahaj Arora are listed as owners of the Marketing Team. - Members – collaborate within the Team by posting messages, sharing files, and participating in meetings.
→ Megha Singh is an example of a member in this Team. - Guests – external users from outside the organisation, with limited access.
→ Mit Patel appears as a guest, meaning he can participate in discussions and access shared content, but with restrictions.
This role-based structure helps keep Teams organised, secure, and easy to manage ensuring the right people have the right level of access.
2. Channels (See “General” in the screenshot)
Each Team is made up of Channels, which act like dedicated rooms within that shared workspace. Channels help keep conversations and files organised around specific topics, projects, or workstreams.
There are three types of channels in Teams: Standard, Private, and Shared, each with different rules for visibility and file access. We’ll break down the differences shortly.
In this example:
You’re inside the General Channel of the Marketing Team, which is a Standard Channel. This type of channel is created by default in every Team and is visible to all members and can be renamed. It’s a shared space where team members post updates, share files, and collaborate on marketing tasks.
Each Channel includes:
- A Posts tab for threaded conversations.
→ In the screenshot, you can see Sahaj Arora and Megha Singh posting updates in the Posts. This is where team discussions happen, and replies are kept in a threaded format to maintain context. - A Files tab where shared documents are stored (in the Team’s SharePoint site).
→ Although not expanded in the image, the Files tab (next to Posts) holds all files shared within the General Channel. These are stored in the associated SharePoint folder for this channel. - Additional tabs for links, apps, or resources relevant to the channel’s purpose.
→ The screenshot shows extra tabs like Notes, Marketing, December Action Items, and Planner.- Marketing and December Action Items were likely added as custom tabs to surface important resources or files.
- Planner is an integrated Microsoft app used to track tasks and projects within the team.
These tabs make it easy to bring tools and documents into one place, so the team can access everything they need without switching platforms.
Channels Explained: Standard, Private, and Shared
We’ve already covered the core structure of Microsoft Teams and if Teams is the house, then Channels are the rooms inside it. But not all rooms work the same way.
This is where confusion often begins, especially when it comes to file storage and user access. Not all Channels behave the same behind the scenes and unless you understand those differences, it is easy to lose track of documents, break links, or mistakenly share sensitive information.
To clear things up, here’s what you need to know: Channels come in three types each with its own rules for who can access them and how files are stored.
1. Standard Channels
- Visible to everyone in the Team.
- Best for general collaboration across the group.
- Files are stored in the Team’s SharePoint site, in a folder matching the channel name (don’t worry if you’re not sure what SharePoint is yet — we’ll get to that shortly). For Example: The “General” channel in the screenshot is a Standard Channel, available to all Marketing Team members.
2. Private Channels
- Visible only to selected members of the Team.
- Used for sensitive or restricted discussions.
- Creates a separate storage area with its own access controls.
🔒 You’ll know it’s private when a lock icon appears next to the channel name.
3. Shared Channels
- Designed for collaboration with people outside the Team, such as other departments or external partners.
- Users don’t need to be members of the full Team.
- Files are still stored in the Team’s shared space, but access is limited to the Shared Channel’s participants.
🔗 These channels display a small link icon next to their name.
Understanding the differences between channel types helps you avoid access issues, oversharing, or confusion about where your files are actually going. Next, we’ll look at how SharePoint fits into all of this and why it matters more than you might think.
How SharePoint Actually Works with Teams
When you upload a file in Microsoft Teams, it might feel like it just “lives in Teams.” But behind the scenes, every file shared in a channel is stored in SharePoint, even if you’ve never opened it or used it directly.
What SharePoint Actually Is
SharePoint is Microsoft’s file storage and document management platform. It powers the file system behind Microsoft Teams, but it’s also used to build internal sites, share content across departments, and manage access to shared documents in an organisation.
Even if you never open a SharePoint site in your browser, if you’re using Teams, you’re already using SharePoint — just through a simplified Teams interface.
How Teams Uses SharePoint Behind the Scenes
Here’s how it works:
- When you create a new Team, Microsoft automatically creates a connected SharePoint site in the background.
- That SharePoint site becomes the central place where all files shared in that Team’s channels are stored.
- For each Standard Channel, SharePoint creates a folder (inside the site’s Documents library) that matches the channel name.
- When you upload a file in that channel’s Files tab, it’s stored in that folder — you’re just seeing it through the Teams interface.
📁 So when you share a document in the General channel of the Marketing Team, it’s actually stored in a folder called “General” inside that team’s SharePoint site.
Where OneDrive Fits In
Now that we’ve covered SharePoint, let’s talk about the other major piece: OneDrive.
Most Teams users don’t realise that where you share a file depends on how you share it. When you drop a file into a Channel, it goes into SharePoint. But when you share a file in a one-on-one chat or group chat, it lands somewhere else entirely: your personal OneDrive.
Now that we’ve covered SharePoint, let’s talk about the other key part of Microsoft 365 file storage: OneDrive.
OneDrive is your personal cloud storage—it’s tied to your Microsoft 365 account and designed for files you’re working on individually. Unlike SharePoint, which is built for team collaboration, OneDrive is more private by default.
Here’s how it fits in:
What OneDrive Is
- Your own secure storage space in the cloud
- Automatically accessible from any device (desktop, mobile, web)
- Ideal for working files, personal notes, or drafts you’re not ready to share yet
How It Works in Teams
- When you share a file in a one-on-one or group chat, it’s uploaded to your OneDrive and permissioned to the people in the chat
- You remain the owner of the file, and can stop sharing or update permissions anytime
OneDrive vs SharePoint: What to Use When
Feature / Use Case | OneDrive | SharePoint (via Teams Channels) |
Purpose | Personal storage | Team or project-based collaboration |
Default Visibility | Private to you | Visible to the Team |
How Files Are Shared | Shared manually in chats or links | Automatically shared in Channels |
Where Files Are Stored | Your individual OneDrive cloud folder | SharePoint site linked to the Team |
Best For | Drafts, notes, personal work, ad-hoc sharing | Team documents, shared resources, project files |
File Ownership | You are the owner | The Team owns the file through SharePoint |
Real-Time Collaboration | Yes (co-authoring supported) | Yes (co-authoring supported) |
Example Scenario | Sharing a file in a 1:1 or group chat | Uploading a file in a Team Channel |
Bonus: Version History & Real-Time Co-Authoring
One of the biggest benefits of storing files in SharePoint or OneDrive is how effortlessly they support real-time collaboration.
You can:
- Work on the same file at the same time as others (in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint)
- See previous versions and restore them instantly if something goes wrong
Eliminate messy versioning like “Final_v6_UPDATED(2).docx” forever
Whether you’re editing solo or collaborating with your team, changes are automatically saved and tracked so no one loses work or overwrites anyone else.
Final Recap: Teams Is Just the Front End
If there’s one thing to take away from all this, it’s that Microsoft Teams is just the interface. It’s the surface your team interacts with but the actual storage and structure happen behind the scenes.
Here’s how it all fits together:
- Teams provides the workspace: chats, meetings, Channels, and collaboration tools
- Channels determine how your work is organised and where files are stored
- SharePoint holds the files shared in Channels, it is the main storage system
- OneDrive stores files shared in private chats, these are owned by individuals
- Structure and education keep everything clean and prevent long-term issues
When businesses overlook this structure, they often run into lost documents, access issues, and cluttered Teams environments. But once your team understands how everything connects, you regain control and work much more efficiently.
At Sereno IT, we help clients set up Microsoft 365 properly from the start or fix setups that have become messy over time. Whether you’re new to Teams or looking to simplify an existing setup, understanding how Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive work together is the key to staying organised and secure.
