Published: June 2026. Source: Microsoft Learn - SharePoint Home Site Updates
Microsoft has completed the general availability rollout of a significant branding change to its Microsoft 365 intranet offering. The app previously known as Viva Connections in Microsoft Teams is now the SharePoint app. Targeted release tenants received this update from early May 2026; the change is reaching all production tenants by end of June 2026.
What Is the SharePoint App in Teams?
The SharePoint app in Teams is the renamed version of Viva Connections. It provides a central intranet destination inside Microsoft Teams, powered by a SharePoint home site, giving employees access to company news, curated links, and departmental resources without leaving the Teams client.
The underlying technology has not changed. What changed is the default name employees see, where administrators manage the experience, and the licence requirements for core features. Existing Viva Connections configurations, including dashboards, web parts, and audience targeting, continue to function exactly as before.
What Changed for Viva Connections Deployments
App name and icon. For tenants that never customised the app name or icon, the app now displays as SharePoint in the Teams left navigation and app launcher. Tenants that set a custom display name keep their branding automatically and see no visible change.
Admin centre integration. SharePoint administrators can now create and designate home sites directly from the SharePoint admin centre. This consolidates home site management into a single SharePoint administration workflow, without a separate Viva configuration step for basic setup.
New Resources and Announcements web parts. Two new web parts ship with this update. The Resources web part provides a curated list of links and employee resources, replacing the older links panel in the Connections dashboard. The Announcements web part supports targeted company-wide or audience-specific announcements. Both are included with standard Microsoft 365 commercial plans, with no dedicated Viva licence required.
Filmstrip News layout. The News web part gains a filmstrip option: a horizontally scrollable card view for news content, alongside the existing stack and grid layouts.
Core intranet features are now included in standard Microsoft 365 commercial plans. A dedicated Viva employee experience licence is no longer required to deploy a functional company intranet in Teams. Advanced Viva suite capabilities such as Viva Insights and Viva Learning remain licence-gated.
Three Things to Check in Your Tenant
The rollout is automatic and requires no action for most organisations. These are the three scenarios worth reviewing before July.
Default app name in use. If your Viva Connections app was never customised, users will see it relabelled as SharePoint in Teams. Update any internal help documentation, onboarding guides, or support articles that reference "Viva Connections" by name, so employees are not confused by the rename when they next look for the app.
Custom app name already set. Nothing changes for your tenant. Your branded intranet experience continues as configured.
If your tenant has no home site configured, this update is a good moment to set one up. A home site gives employees a consistent intranet entry point in Teams, and the SharePoint admin centre now makes the process straightforward. See the Microsoft Learn documentation linked in the source note below for the configuration steps.
Before surfacing your intranet more prominently in Teams, confirm that your site permissions are in good order. ShareMaster's SharePoint permissions audit guide walks through a complete tenant-wide review. The Shared Links and Permissions tool can identify broadly shared links before additional employees discover them through the Teams intranet.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the SharePoint app in Teams?
The SharePoint app in Teams is the new name for Viva Connections. It is a Teams-embedded intranet hub powered by a SharePoint home site. The underlying features are unchanged; only the default name has updated.
Does the rename affect tenants with a custom app name?
No. Tenants with a custom display name and icon retain their branding automatically. The rename to SharePoint applies only to tenants using the default Viva Connections name and icon.
Do you still need a Viva licence to use the SharePoint app in Teams?
Not for core features. Home sites, the Resources web part, and the Announcements web part are now available with standard Microsoft 365 commercial plans. Advanced Viva suite features remain separately licenced.
Source: Microsoft Learn - Home site updates in SharePoint. Configuration reference: Microsoft Learn - Configure the SharePoint App for Teams.