Forum Discussion
B2B Collab / Direct Connect - Teams users have different types of access
Hi, I'm hoping this isn't an obvious beginner issue but i've spoken to a few people with experience now and no one seems to know what could be going on.
We have setup B2B access with a larger external organisation. I configured inbound and outbound access to allow all, from and to, their domain and they have done the same.
Monday morning one of our guys logs in to teams and starts getting messages. He has the ability to search for people in their org via name and the organisation appears in the profile menu as shown below (XYZ Co). All looks good and it does what we want it to.
Another user on our domain logs in and doesn't have the other company shown in the profile menu in teams and can only find someone from the external org via knowing their specific email address.
Has anybody, any idea what the difference between the two users could be?
Hi Fess,
here is my explanation regarding your questions:B2B Direct Connect Overview:
- B2B direct connect helps people work together across different organizations using Teams shared channels.
- Access levels depend on the shared channel's rules.
- For example, a colleague who can search for people in another organization and sees its name likely has B2B direct connect access.
B2B Collaboration:
- B2B collaboration lets you invite outsiders to join specific Teams.
- These guests have broader access, not just to shared channels but to the entire team.
- Someone who can only find people from another organization via email might be using B2B collaboration.
Possible Differences:
- Check how each user was added—whether as a guest to a specific team (B2B collaboration) or directly to shared channels (B2B direct connect).
- Look at the rules for shared channels to see who can do what.
B2B direct connect is for shared channels, while B2B collaboration brings guests into whole teams.
B2B direct connect Microsoft Entra overview - Microsoft Entra External ID | Microsoft Learn
Collaborate with external participants in a shared channel (IT Admins) | Microsoft Learn- This helped but we still don't know what the reason for a specific user experience difference is. We now think it has something to do with users being invited in to teams/channels with an specific organisation, but the lack of documentation around this is a bit frustrating.
Thanks
