Microsoft Teams is where a lot of businesses now chat, hold video meetings and share files. Microsoft sells it several ways, and the names don't make the differences obvious. Here's what each option gets you.

The free version

Microsoft's free Teams is made for personal use. It handles chat and video calls, but group meetings are cut off after an hour, storage is small, and there's no way to manage staff accounts from one place. That last point is the real problem for a business. When someone leaves, you can't take their account back or see what they shared. Free Teams is fine for a sole trader making the odd call. Once you have staff, it isn't.

Teams Essentials

Teams Essentials is a low-cost paid plan for meetings and chat on their own. Meetings can run much longer and hold more people, you get more storage, and Microsoft provides support. It doesn't include business email, Word and Excel, or company file storage outside Teams. It suits a business whose email already lives somewhere else, such as Google Workspace, and that wants dependable meetings.

Microsoft 365 Business plans

For most small businesses, Teams works best as part of a Microsoft 365 Business plan. There are three levels:

• Business Basic includes Teams, email on your own web address, file storage, and Word, Excel and PowerPoint in a web browser.

• Business Standard adds the full Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook programs on each computer, plus tools for running webinars.

• Business Premium adds stronger security. It lets you manage and lock down company laptops and phones, and adds extra protection against harmful emails and logins from unusual places. Choose it if you hold sensitive client records, as NDIS providers and allied health practices do.

On a Business plan, everything connects. Files shared in Teams are stored with the rest of your company files. Meetings land in everyone's Outlook calendar. Staff use one login for all of it.

Microsoft also sells each Business plan without Teams, so check the plan name includes Teams before you buy.

Which one fits?

• You work alone and only make the occasional call: the free version

• Your email lives elsewhere but meetings matter: Teams Essentials

• You want email, files and Teams in one place: Business Basic or Business Standard

• You hold sensitive client or patient records: Business Premium

Set it up properly

Choosing the plan is the easy part. Most of the trouble we see comes afterwards, when files end up in the wrong places, the wrong people can see them, or the security features were never switched on. Elevated IT helps businesses across Lake Macquarie, Newcastle and the Central Coast pick the right Microsoft 365 plan and set it up properly from day one. Call us on 1800 620 449.