Norwegian retailer unifies Teams and SharePoint under E5 licensing
REMA 1000, a Norwegian grocery chain, rolled out Microsoft 365 E5 to consolidate Teams, SharePoint, and OneDrive into one platform. The project focused on governance and security controls rather than new features. The retailer reported improved visibility into how staff collaborate and access documents across the business. Sprawl decreased once teams and sites were brought under central oversight. The work required E5 licensing and a deliberate unification effort. Benefits appeared only after the company treated the rollout as an ongoing governance program rather than a one-time migration.
Before this kind of consolidation, most mid-sized retailers ran Teams and SharePoint as separate tools with no single view of who could see what. Abandoned sites and guest accounts accumulated without anyone noticing until a compliance review or breach forced action. What changed is that even a successful unification still demands continuous oversight and the right license tier. For teams running E3 with limited staff, the story shows that governance improvements do not come from the license alone. They come from deciding who owns the cleanup and how often it happens.
Analysis
This is a trap to avoid if you treat it as proof that buying E5 will fix sprawl. Audit external sharing across every site and Team this week and set guest access to private by default with exceptions only for active partners.
Citation
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