Microsoft 365 Groups is a service that works with the Microsoft 365 tools you already use so you can collaborate with your teammates when writing documents, creating spreadsheets, working on project plans, scheduling meetings, or sending email. Think of it as a shared workspace for email, conversations, files, and calendar events where group members can collectively get things done.
What features come with Microsoft 365 Groups?
Microsoft 365 Groups come with many features by default:
- A group email address and mailbox
- A group calendar
- A Sharepoint site for the group with 500GB of storage
- A OneNote notebook
How are Microsoft 365 Groups and Teams related?
A Microsoft 365 Group is the backbone of a Team, but it is important to note that Microsoft 365 Groups can exist without a Team, but a Team must have a Microsoft 365 Group associated with it. Since a Team must have a Microsoft 365 Group associated with it, any new members added to the Group will be added to the Team and vice versa.
Creating a Microsoft 365 Group
Tip: All Microsoft 365 Groups and Teams will be set to
Private when created. This prevents the group from being accessed by anyone other than the listed members of the group. If you require a group/Team to be public, please submit a
Microsoft 365 request to request your group be set to public.
A Microsoft 365 Group can be created in multiple ways, but the two most common are via Outlook and Teams.
Outlook
- Click on the Groups icon on the left sidebar
- Click New Group
- Provide a name for the group
- This will automatically generate an email address for the group
- Provide an optional description of the group and its purpose
- Click Create
- On the next screen, add members to the group
Note: By default, group members will receive emails sent to the group in their personal inboxes. If this is not desired, click Edit during the group creation and uncheck the box under Subscription that mentions "Members will receive all group conversations..." Group members will also be able to stop following the group in their inbox, even if this box is checked.
As mentioned above, this will create a Microsoft 365 Group but not a Team. But if a Team is created, then that will also create a Microsoft 365 Group.
Teams
- Click the Teams icon on the left sidebar within Microsoft Teams
- Click the + at the top, then Create Team
- To create a new Team and Microsoft 365 Group, select From template and choose the template that most closely matches what the Team/Group will be used for.
- If you have already created a Group and want to add Teams to it, then select From group and select the group from which you would like to create the Team
Microsoft 365 Groups Expiration
In an effort to improve governance and the management of the Microsoft 365 environment, groups will expire after 365 days of inactivity.
When a group expires, all of its associated services (Outlook mailbox, Team, Planner, Sharepoint site, etc.) are also deleted.
Groups that are actively in use are renewed automatically. No additional action will be required by group owners. Any of the following actions will auto-renew a group:
- Sharepoint - view, edit, download, move, share, or upload files.
- Outlook - join group, read or write group messages from the group
- Teams - visiting a Teams channel.
Group owners will be notified of pending expiration via email. If the group has a Team, the group owners will also receive a notification to renew through the activity section in Teams. 30 days before the group expires, the group owners will receive an email allowing them to renew the group. If they don’t renew it, they’ll receive another renewal email 15 days before expiration. If they still haven’t renewed it, they will receive one more email notification the day before expiration.
When the group expires, the group is deleted one day after the expiration date. An email notification is sent to the owners that include a link to restore the group. Additionally, if for some reason the owner does not renew a group before it expires, you can submit a ticket to the ITS Service Desk to request a restore up to 30 days after expiration.