Why is Managing Permissions in Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Such a Challenge?

A useful resource I found was the CIS MS365 Benchmarks PDF. It really helped me grasp the intricacies of MS365 and discover parts of the admin panel I’d never seen before. It could help you simplify things and cut down on the chaotic default settings!

It’s clear that different teams within Microsoft handle each part like Defender or Entra, and they haven’t really meshed those systems well. You end up with multiple ways to do similar tasks scattered throughout the dashboard, which can be pretty frustrating. Hang in there while you figure it out!

Teams actually layers over SharePoint and uses Entra for identity management. It’s a bit convoluted, but that’s the gist of it. Microsoft is still evolving as a cloud provider, which can lead to confusion in how permissions works. It seems like they haven't quite nailed down a cohesive strategy yet, but that’s just how it is for now.

From what I’ve learned, when you create a Team or SharePoint site, it actually generates a Microsoft Group, and those group memberships are what grant permissions. It’s easy to feel lost, especially with the mess of links and sites. Don't overthink it like a conventional file share; instead, try to focus on whether each group is doing its job properly. It’s really more like a rhizome than a straightforward hierarchy.