Microsoft 365 is a hidden gem-filled ocean. The external user collaboration is one of the heavily underutilized features. Without sacrificing security, M365 external users portal provides users with seamless integration capabilities. When it comes to using external user features to solve actual business problems, the possibilities are endless.
The majority of businesses adding external users to SharePoint or M365 tenant, limiting their access to file sharing and adding them to Teams channels and calls. I would compare this very basic use case for an external user to owning a Ferrari and restricting its speed to 10 miles per hour.
External user function can enhance your collaboration capabilities with vendors, sub-contractors, customers, temporary workers, frontline workers, students, community members and so on. Be it sharing files, managing projects, timesheets, tasks or information flow, the capabilities of external user feature extend beyond just file sharing.
Read More: Software Solutions for Sharing Files with External Users.
I would like to highlight some of the underlying reasons pertaining to such a low adoption for external user feature.
1. External User Governance
Adding a new external user to M365 tenant:
There is a dependency on your tenant administrator when you add a new external user as a guest. This dependency may result in a considerable delay in the process, particularly if there are a lot of external users and frequent requests.
Tracking external user acceptance:
This invitation process is concluded upon acceptance by the guest user. Tracking can be quite challenging when there are a lot of external users, particularly when the tenant administrator needs to access Azure Active Directory to verify the acceptance status of the users. This onboarding is further delayed by the absence of auto reminders.
Lack of ownership by business users:
Not empowering business users with a workflow to manage adding external users to SharePoint and creates another roadblock for the mass adoption of this feature. Active Directory users and external users must have a mechanism for user management without creating any dependency on M365 tenant administrator. In many cases M365 users would like to adding external users for a limited period and giving them limited permissions. Lack of this level of management discourages an enterprise to fully leverage external users features.
2. Guest User Interface
Useability and UX is the key to successful adoption for any feature. Guest users may not know anything about M365 and for them, their portal or user interface is all that matters. Customizing users’ interface for guest users would cost a fortune. This is one of the reasons why companies are yet to see real benefits for the external user feature.
Learn More: Simplifying External User Management
3. Identity Governance
Some of the challenges that I have highlighted above can be resolved by implementing Microsoft's Entra ID Governance. It allows you to manage identity lifecycle, build workflows, put an expiry to external users etc. However, there is a significant cost impact as customers must additionally subscribe to Entra ID P2 (formerly Azure Active Directory P2) plans or upgrade their M365 to E5.
At Titan Workspace we have simplified external user management with an intuitive dashboard. Our solution does not require Entra ID P2 plan and works with all M365 including business essentials. Following key features of Titan Workspace facilitate guest user governance:
- Workflow based approval for inviting new guest.
- Dashboard for tracking status such as Invited, Accepted, Active and Terminated.
- Automated reminders for invitation acceptance
- Expiry date management for external user access
- Template based guest user access
- Defining guest user types
We have observed a significant increase in the adoption of Microsoft 365 external user features among our customers, contributing to a higher ROI on their existing M365 and SharePoint investments.
At Titan Workspace, we have simplified Microsoft SharePoint External Sharing with an intuitive dashboard. Our solution does not require an Entra ID P2 plan and works with all M365 plans, including Business Essentials. The following key features of Titan Workspace facilitate guest user governance:
- Workflow-based approval for inviting new guests: Streamline the process of inviting external users with a structured approval workflow.
- Dashboard for tracking status: Easily monitor the status of guest users, such as Invited, Accepted, Active, and Terminated.
- Automated reminders for invitation acceptance: Ensure timely acceptance of invitations with automated reminder notifications.
- Expiry date management for external user access: Manage and set expiry dates for external user access to enhance security.
- Template-based guest user access: Simplify the process of granting access by using predefined templates.
- Defining guest user types: Customize access and permissions based on different types of guest users.
We have observed a significant increase in the adoption of external user features among our customers, contributing to a higher ROI on their existing M365 and SharePoint investments.
FAQ’s
- Can you use SharePoint with External Users?
- How do I allow external guest access to SharePoint?
- Do guest users need a license to access SharePoint?
You can share OneDrive, SharePoint, or Lists files with people inside or outside your organization, allowing for secure collaboration.
In the SharePoint admin center, under Policies, enable external sharing for SharePoint. Select either "Anyone" or "New and existing guests" as your sharing setting. Save your changes
SharePoint Online does not strictly enforce license requirements. Users without licenses can still access content, and permissions are not directly tied to licenses. If you want to restrict access, you should use the SharePoint Online permission model.
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