We're fully committed to O365, and I'm working hard to show my team how to utilize it effectively. However, some staff members are struggling with collaboration when it comes to sharing files with external parties or organizations. For instance, sharing files through Teams often becomes tricky with individuals who don't have Microsoft accounts, and it's a major hassle when the other organization's IT has disabled cross-tenant access. Troubleshooting this every time takes up too much time. I'm in search of a file-sharing or collaboration platform that integrates with O365 but doesn't have these limitations. Any recommendations?
3 Answers
If you're dealing with external sharing issues, you could add the people who need access as organization guests. It might help simplify some of the sharing processes!
Are you the admin for your environment? You should be able to set up SharePoint libraries that allow external sharing without getting bogged down by the other organization’s restrictions on Teams. It might take a bit of setup but could save you time in the long run!
We've seen similar challenges with our clients. Here’s a quick breakdown: If you need seamless external sharing, you might want to look at third-party solutions like Dropbox or Box.
1. **Dropbox for Business**: It doesn’t require recipients to have a Microsoft account, and external sharing is incredibly straightforward. You can even edit Office files in-browser with Office Online.
2. **Box for Microsoft 365**: They offer solid Microsoft 365 integration, and their sharing model allows for more flexibility with external users, plus stronger controls for admins.
3. **Microsoft Solutions**: If you want to stay within Microsoft, consider streamlining with OneDrive/SharePoint’s ‘Anyone with the link’ feature and automate guest onboarding with Entra ID.
Just be mindful of compliance and management when using third-party tools! By the way, we also have a product that tracks external user access across apps, if that interests you!
That’s true, but keep in mind that if the other party blocks external communication on Teams, you’ll still run into issues.