Why Teams & SharePoint Don’t Work for Inter-Institutional Collaboration

Learn where big tech falls short and what a higher-ed-first alternative looks like.

At first glance, Microsoft Teams and SharePoint seem like safe choices for collaboration in higher education. They’re widely used, familiar to staff, and bundled with institutional licenses. But when universities try to collaborate across institutional boundaries — whether through research networks, consortia, or joint programmes — the cracks start to show.

Let’s unpack why big tech platforms built for corporate teams often fail in an academic, inter-institutional context — and what to look for in a higher-ed-first alternative.

🧱 Built for Internal Teams, Not Cross-Institutional Ecosystems

Microsoft Teams and SharePoint were designed for collaboration within a single organization — with a central administrator, a unified directory, and tightly controlled permissions. This structure works well for internal departments, but it doesn’t translate to the decentralized, diverse world of academic alliances.

Some common pain points:

• 🔐 Rigid access control — adding external users is complex and often insecure

• 🧩 Limited integration with academic tools like Moodle, ORCID, or research infrastructure

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 No community features for building trust and informal exchange across institutions

• ⚠️ Data sovereignty concerns with US-based hosting and legal exposure under the Cloud Act

• 🚧 High IT overhead for setup, training, and cross-organization governance

For institutions engaged in Erasmus+ projects, European University Alliances, or cross-border research, these obstacles are more than frustrating — they’re deal-breakers.

🧠 What Collaboration in Higher Education Actually Needs

Universities don’t function like corporations. Academic collaboration is:

• Decentralized

• Multilingual

• Autonomy-driven

• Built on mutual trust

• Frequently cross-institutional and cross-border

That means higher ed needs platforms that are:

💡 What a Higher-Ed-First Alternative Looks Like

A purpose-built platform like Outfox supports the real dynamics of academic collaboration:

• 🔄 Seamless onboarding of partners, students, and researchers from multiple institutions

• 🧑‍🏫 Role-specific access for project coordinators, staff, and students

• 🌐 Data sovereignty with hosting inside the EU, aligned with public sector requirements

• 🧠 Human-centered design focused on knowledge sharing, trust, and engagement

• 🧰 Open integrations with tools already used in academic workflows

🚀 Rethinking “Safe” Choices

Using Microsoft Teams for inter-university collaboration is like trying to host an international conference using only Outlook and Excel. It can work — but it’s not made for it.

Choosing a platform like Outfox isn’t just about features. It’s about alignment: with your values, your governance models, and your mission as a higher education institution.

🎯 Make the Switch

Ready to move beyond the limits of big tech? Outfox helps universities, consortia, and project teams collaborate with autonomy, security, and ease.

👉 Book a demo or start your free trial to experience the difference.