How to Manage External Users in Microsoft Teams

The world of remote work has significantly advanced, especially with the introduction of video conferencing tools like Microsoft Teams. It’s increasingly becoming the preferred choice for businesses to keep their employees connected, even if they are not in the same location. However, as a Teams administrator or a team owner, managing external users has been a top concern. In this article, we will delve into how one can properly manage external users in Microsoft Teams.

Inviting External Users

Before we start, it is important to understand how external users are invited into a team. External users in Microsoft Teams are individuals who are not part of your organization but require access to some documents or discussions for business purposes. To invite external users, you (as a team owner or administrator) first need to enable external access and permissions for Microsoft Teams. Afterward, you can either invite them via email or by sharing a link with them.

Managing External Users

When dealing with external users, it’s essential to understand that they have limited permissions compared to internal members. External users cannot create private channels and cannot create teams, and cannot perform some administrative duties. Furthermore, it’s also important to note that external users do not have any access to resources within the organization, which they are not explicitly granted.

Removing External Users

If you no longer want external users to access your team, you can remove them from there. You can do this by going to your team’s Member’s section and selecting the external user you want to remove. Afterward, click on ‘Remove from team,’ and they’ll be removed from the team.

Managing Guest Access

Generally, guest access is how external users gain access to tasks on a team. With guest access, external users can participate in conversations, share files and folders, and collaborate on documents within that team. As a team owner or administrator, you can decide to enable or disable guest access for your organization. You can also further specify the capabilities of external users if guest access is enabled.

Interim conclusion

Microsoft Teams is a popular choice for businesses to communicate and collaborate remotely. As such, it’s essential to have a clear understanding of how external users are managed within the platform. Enabling external access, managing access, and removing users are critical functions that both team members and administrators must know how to carry out. By following the tips provided in this article, you can maintain efficient communication and clear workflows with external users in your organization.

How to Manage External Users with Solutions2Shares External User Manager

As an IT admin, managing external users in Microsoft Teams can be a challenge. With the rise of remote work and collaboration, external users are becoming a common part of the digital workplace. However, without the proper tools and processes in place, managing guest users can lead to security risks and chaos. Luckily, Solutions2Shares External User Manager is here to help. In this blog post, we will discuss how External User Manager can solve some of the common challenges faced by IT admins when managing external users in Microsoft Teams.

Missing overview of all externals on the tenant

One of the most significant challenges when managing external users is keeping track of them all. It can be challenging to get an overview of all the externals on the tenant. Solutions2Shares External User Manager makes it easy to see all the guests on your tenant and what teams they have access to. With this functionality, IT admins can more easily manage guests and ensure that they are only granted access to the necessary resources.

Difficult manual process for non-disclosure agreements

When granting access to sensitive data or information, non-disclosure agreements or privacy policies are often required. However, manually managing this process can be time-consuming and prone to errors. Solution2shares External User Manager has an onboarding portal where guests can sign custom non-disclosure agreements or privacy policies before being allowed to access your environment. This process can save IT admins a lot of time and ensure compliance with any legal requirements.

Lack of protection for sensitive data

Granting access to sensitive data or information can be risky without the proper protection in place. As an IT admin, you need to make sure that sensitive data is only accessible by authorized users. Solution2shares External User Manager has access management features that allow IT admins to control guest access to different resources. This functionality ensures that guests are not granted access to sensitive information unless absolutely necessary.

No lifecycles – guests have to be removed manually

When a guest user is no longer needed, it is important to remove their access to ensure that your data is secure. Without the proper processes in place, IT admins will have to manually remove the guest user's access. Solution2shares External User Manager has automated lifecycles that remove inactive guests, saving IT admins time and ensuring that access is revoked when it is no longer necessary.

Conclusion

Managing external users can be a challenge, but our External User Manager can help IT admins face these challenges head-on. With functionality like easy overview of all guests, custom non-disclosure agreements, automated access reviews, and lifecycles to remove inactive guests, IT admins can have better control and security over their digital workplace. By using External User Manager, IT admins can focus on other important tasks instead of manually managing external user access.