Author
Prem Chandran
Microsoft has officially renamed Viva Connections to the SharePoint app in Teams, marking a significant shift in how Microsoft positions its intranet and employee experience capabilities within Microsoft 365. While the underlying functionality remains largely the same, the change reflects Microsoft's broader strategy to simplify the user experience and strengthen SharePoint's role as the foundation for modern intranets and AI-powered employee experiences.
If you've been using Viva Connections as your organization's gateway to news, resources, and company communications in Teams, there's no need to worry—your content, branding, and configuration remain intact. What has changed is how the experience is packaged, managed, and presented to users.
What Changed?
The change applies to how the experience is presented and managed within Microsoft 365, but it does not replace Viva Connections with a new product. Organizations using Viva Connections today will continue to have access to the same core capabilities, including company news, dashboards, navigation, and employee communications.
For end users, the most visible change is the new name for organizations running the default experience. In Teams, the Viva Connections app now appears as the SharePoint app, creating a more consistent experience across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem. If your organization has already configured a custom app name and logo, that branding carries forward, and users will see no change at all. Existing configurations, branding customizations, dashboards, and content remain intact, meaning organizations can transition without having to rebuild their intranet experience.
Administrators will also notice that Microsoft is placing greater emphasis on SharePoint as the central management hub for intranet and employee engagement experiences in Teams. This shift aligns the Teams experience more closely with the SharePoint home site that powers it behind the scenes.
The Reason Behind the Rename
The rename is part of Microsoft's effort to simplify the Microsoft 365 experience and reduce confusion around overlapping product branding. Since Viva Connections has always been powered by SharePoint home sites, Microsoft is now aligning the branding more closely with the technology behind the experience.
Many users viewed Viva Connections and SharePoint as separate products, despite the fact that SharePoint provided the content, navigation, news, and intranet foundation. By bringing the experience under the SharePoint brand, Microsoft creates a clearer relationship between intranet content and its delivery inside Teams.
The change also reflects Microsoft's growing investment in SharePoint as the central content platform for Microsoft 365, Copilot, and employee communications. As organizations continue preparing their environments for AI and Copilot adoption, SharePoint is increasingly becoming the authoritative source for organizational knowledge and communications.
Key Capabilities of the SharePoint App in Teams
Although the name has changed, the core experience remains focused on delivering a modern employee hub directly within Teams.
News and Communications
The SharePoint app surfaces organizational news and announcements directly where employees work every day. News can be targeted to specific audiences, helping employees stay informed without leaving Teams.
Personalized Dashboard
Organizations can create dashboards containing cards that connect employees to common business processes, applications, tasks, and resources. These dashboards can be tailored by role, department, or location.
Resources and Navigation
The experience provides quick access to frequently used resources, departmental sites, policies, and business tools through curated navigation and resource links.
Mobile and Frontline Experiences
The SharePoint app continues to deliver optimized experiences across desktop and mobile devices, making it especially valuable for frontline and hybrid workers who need easy access to organizational information from anywhere.
Integration with the Microsoft 365 Ecosystem
The app leverages existing investments in Microsoft 365, including SharePoint, Teams, Viva Engage, and Copilot. This creates a unified employee experience built on the same trusted content platform that powers Microsoft 365 search and AI experiences.
Benefits for End Users and Organizations
Reduced Complexity
Employees no longer need to understand the distinction between Viva Connections and SharePoint. A single SharePoint-branded experience reduces confusion and simplifies navigation inside Teams.
Better Adoption
By positioning the experience as part of SharePoint, Microsoft makes it easier for organizations to promote a single destination for company communications, resources, and intranet content. This can improve visibility and adoption of internal communications.
A Stronger Foundation for Copilot
As Microsoft 365 Copilot becomes more prevalent, content quality, governance, and information architecture are increasingly important. SharePoint home sites serve as authoritative sources of information, helping ensure employees can find accurate and relevant content through AI-powered experiences.
Greater Value from Existing Investments
Organizations can maximize the value of their existing SharePoint and Teams investments without introducing additional platforms or employee experience applications. The SharePoint app provides a unified destination for communications, resources, and engagement.
Latest Home Site and SharePoint App Updates
Alongside the rebranding, Microsoft introduced several new enhancements to home sites and the SharePoint app experience. These updates are designed to make intranet creation and management easier while improving the employee experience.
Create Home Sites Directly from the SharePoint Admin Center
Administrators can now create and designate SharePoint home sites directly from the SharePoint Admin Center, streamlining setup and management.
New Resources Web Part
A new Resources web part, available exclusively on designated SharePoint home sites, provides a modern way to surface frequently used links, tools, and employee resources.
New Announcements Web Part
A new Announcements web part, also exclusive to designated home sites, gives organizations a dedicated way to publish targeted announcements alongside company news.
Dashboard Personalization
The Dashboard web part's "See all" experience now supports end-user personalization and customization, giving employees more control over the cards they see.
Enhanced News Layouts
The News web part now includes additional layout options, including a filmstrip-style design that helps highlight important news content more effectively.
Simplified Teams Configuration
The SharePoint app can now be configured directly from the home site settings experience, giving site owners greater control over navigation, layout, and user experience within Teams.
Final Thoughts
The rename of the Viva Connections app in Teams to the SharePoint app is more than a branding exercise and it is worth noting that what changed is the name of the Teams app, not the retirement of any product; existing Viva Connections deployments remain available as branded experiences within SharePoint. It reinforces SharePoint's position as the foundation of the modern Microsoft intranet and employee experience platform. For organizations already using Viva Connections, the change requires minimal effort while delivering a more streamlined and intuitive experience for end users.
As Microsoft continues investing in Copilot, AI-powered search, and modern communication tools, the SharePoint app in Teams is becoming an increasingly important entry point for employees to access trusted information, complete tasks, and stay connected to their organization.
