Microsoft Teams is the market leader for digital teamwork in the enterprise. Even before the pandemic, more than 20 million users were on the platform daily — a number that has multiplied since COVID-19. The tool bundles communication and collaboration under one roof and makes working together more efficient.
The questions the study set out to answer
Prof. Dr. Arno Hitzges and Buket Usluer from Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart studied Teams usage across the DACH region, and their findings closely mirror what a dedicated Microsoft Teams governance tool is built to address. The study addresses, among others, the following questions:
- What does experience look like two years after the "Teams boom"?
- Which "team types" have become established?
- What are typical adoption issues?
- Where has sprawl developed?
- Which policies and guidelines are helpful?
- Can automation reduce complexity and boost efficiency?
1. Wide range in time-to-rollout for Microsoft Teams
62% of the companies surveyed only started using Teams during or immediately before the pandemic. Implementation speed varies considerably:
- 55% needed only 1–6 months from planning to rollout
- 24% reported the rollout took more than 12 months
Good planning brings a double benefit: faster delivery and protection against typical pitfalls like collaboration-platform sprawl, problems administering external users, user frustration from IT bottlenecks, and security risk from missing standards.
Company sizes of respondents
- 53% have fewer than 500 employees
- 23% work in large enterprises with 500–5,000 employees
- 23% have more than 5,000 employees
2. Project group size: 6–10 members is most common
Average project team size is 2–10 members (60%), in line with Microsoft's recommendations.
Team types and frequency
- 89% use Teams for project teams
- 86% for departmental teams
- 64% for organisational teams
Users are members of up to 10 teams on average. There are outliers with more than 25 team memberships — at which point overview and structure break down.
Personal teams without guardrails encourage autonomous work but risk sprawl. Project teams with defined structures allow for control and archiving. Organisations need to balance user freedom against necessary rules.
3. The most common challenges when using Microsoft Teams
Untapped feature potential
Only about 30% of organisations actually use tabs, apps, file storage and shared document editing. That points to significant untapped potential.
Too many teams
One in four companies runs more than 1,000 teams. The consequences: employees lose overview, and finding files or messages becomes hard.
Governance gaps
Only 18% use automated processes. According to Prof. Hitzges, this drives unnecessarily high administrative effort. A clear governance concept with suitable tooling - such as Microsoft 365 Governance - is missing in many organisations.
4. Significant time savings available through automation
Time spent on routine tasks
- 48% of respondents spend 2–5 hours per week on administrative tasks
- 20% need more than 5 hours per week
Routine work includes team creation and deletion, approvals, support, and dealing with broken attachments.
Prof. Hitzges recommends putting an IT governance concept in place before rolling out Teams, in order to minimise routine admin work. Automation can deliver significant time and cost savings.
5. Policies and concepts are not optional — they are essential
Current policy adoption
- 35% of respondents have no policy in place — a high administrative risk
- 43% consider naming conventions useful (fast to introduce, no extra cost)
- More than a third of organisations have implemented deletion and archiving policies
Permissions and team creation
- 43% impose no restrictions on team creation — maximum user freedom, but sprawl risk
- 20% require IT contact for team creation (low, because it is effort-intensive)
- 18% allow only selected groups to create teams (engagement risk if not clearly governed)
- Only 18% use automated processes — often due to a lack of governance tools or scripts
Automated processes deliver three clear benefits: time savings while still enforcing policies, cost savings, and no loss of adoption thanks to fast turnaround.
Conclusion
Organisations must strike the balance between regulation and freedom to roll out Microsoft Teams successfully. Automated processes and standardisation deliver three main benefits: relief for IT specialists, compliance with security policies, and improved cross-departmental project communication.
The productivity gains can translate into immense cost savings for the organisation.
Frequently asked questions about the Microsoft Teams Governance Study 2022
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Who conducted the Microsoft Teams Governance Study 2022?
Prof. Dr. Arno Hitzges and Buket Usluer from Hochschule der Medien Stuttgart studied Teams usage across the DACH region. The study addresses experience two years after the "Teams boom," which team types have become established, typical adoption issues, where sprawl has developed, which policies and guidelines are helpful, and whether automation can reduce complexity and boost efficiency.
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How many companies use automated governance processes according to the study?
Only 18% of respondents use automated processes. According to Prof. Hitzges, this drives unnecessarily high administrative effort. At the same time, 35% have no policy in place and 43% impose no restrictions on team creation, which means maximum user freedom but a high sprawl risk.
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How much time do routine tasks take in Microsoft Teams?
The study found that 48% of respondents spend 2 to 5 hours per week on administrative tasks, and 20% need more than 5 hours per week. Routine work includes team creation and deletion, approvals, support, and dealing with broken attachments. Prof. Hitzges recommends putting an IT governance concept in place before rolling out Teams to minimise this work.
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What benefits does automating governance processes bring?
Automated processes deliver three clear benefits: time savings while still enforcing policies, cost savings, and no loss of adoption thanks to fast turnaround. Automation and standardisation relieve IT specialists, ensure compliance with security policies, and improve cross-departmental project communication.
