Microsoft Teams provides 2 different spaces to communicate with group of people:
- Using Chats tab and creating a group chat
- Using Teams tab and posting in a team channel
Here is a quick summary of the differences:
| Group chat | Team channel | |
| Notification | All members of the group will get notified at each message | Members are only notified if they are tagged |
| Formatting | Basic text chat-style formatting | Extended formatting, including flags (announcement, etc.) |
| Discussion structure | Instant messaging structure All messages are sent independently without any organisation. | Facebook structure Separate topic of discussion will be dressed in separated posts. Answer to post will be made via comments. |
| Chat history | Optional when adding members | Always shown to all members |
| File storage | Shared files are stored on each sharing employee OneDrive | Shared files are stored on a dedicated SharePoint team site |
| Applications | No application support (except bots) | Supports all application via tabs |
| Permissions | Anyone can create their own group chat | Team are created by IT, channels by team owner |
Conclusion:
- Channel for FYI message such as people as CC in an email
- Channel for Actionable conversation to certain team members (using @name in a channel).
- Chat to replace phone call or direct Skype message when you need quick answer from a limited group of colleagues. Use it wisely as it would create notification to every conversation members.