What a Microsoft 365 group actually is

The idea

A Microsoft 365 group is a list of people with shared tools attached. When a group is created, Microsoft 365 sets up:

• A shared mailbox and calendar for the group’s conversations and meetings.
• A SharePoint site where the group’s files live.
• A notebook and a task planner.

When you create a team in Microsoft Teams, it creates a group behind the scenes. The files tab in a Teams channel is that group’s SharePoint site.

How it differs from other options

• A distribution list only forwards email to its members. Nothing is stored.
• A shared mailbox is one mailbox several people can read and send from, such as info@ or accounts@.
• A group is for a team that works together and needs a shared place for files, chats and meetings.

Why it matters

Adding someone to a group gives them access to everything attached to it: files, conversations and calendar. Removing them takes all of it away.

That makes groups easy to manage, as long as somebody does. Without rules, businesses end up with dozens of half-used groups, some created by people who have left, holding files nobody can find. A short rule about who creates groups, how they are named and who owns each one keeps it tidy.