A Microsoft 365 Group is a membership and permission model within Microsoft 365 that automatically connects people to shared resources like a SharePoint site, Outlook mailbox, Outlook calendar, Planner, and Microsoft Teams.

Common Use Cases

• Team collaboration: provide a shared workspace for departments or project teams
• Microsoft Teams foundations: every Team is backed by a Microsoft 365 Group
• Shared email & calendar: use a common inbox and calendar in Outlook
• Project-based work: quickly spin up collaboration spaces with consistent access
• Self-service site creation: allows users to create sites and Teams without IT bottlenecks
• Permissions management: control access to multiple services through one group

Benefits

• One membership, many services: add a user once and grant access everywhere
• Simplified permissions: owners and members automatically sync across tools
• Consistency: SharePoint, Teams, Planner, and Outlook stay aligned
• Scalable collaboration: ideal for modern, agile teams
• Reduced admin overhead: fewer manual permission assignments

Key Considerations

• Group-backed resources: Creating a Group also creates connected services (site, mailbox, etc.)
• Owners vs. members: Owners manage membership and settings; members collaborate
• Naming & sprawl: Without governance, Groups can proliferate quickly
• Deletion impacts: Deleting a Group removes all connected resources (Site, Plan, Team)
• External sharing: Guest access must be planned and controlled
• Not always required: Some SharePoint sites work better without a Group