Viva Connections vs a SharePoint web part
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These get compared as if they were competing options, and they are not. Viva Connections is a delivery surface; a web part is a component. Viva takes your existing SharePoint intranet and surfaces it inside Microsoft Teams, with a mobile-first dashboard of cards. A web part is a piece of functionality on an intranet page.
The practical consequence is that most organisations end up with both, and the real question is not which to choose but what belongs in each. Viva's dashboard cards are deliberately small and glanceable — a card, an icon, a number, a tap. They are not a place for a table, a filter or a report.
The rule that resolves nearly every case: the card is the entry point, the web part is the tool. If someone has to do something more than tap, they are going to end up on a page.
What each one actually is
| Viva Connections | SharePoint web part | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A shell that surfaces your intranet in Teams | A component placed on a page |
| Where users meet it | Teams, especially on mobile | The intranet page, and in Teams if exposed there |
| Best for | Glanceable entry points, reaching frontline staff | Doing the actual work |
| Content unit | Dashboard cards | Anything the component renders |
| Extra licence | Included with Microsoft 365 in current plans | None |
| Interactivity | Low, by design: a tap that opens something | As much as the component provides |
The row worth dwelling on is the last. Viva's low interactivity is not a shortcoming to work around — it is the design. A dashboard that requires reading and filtering has failed at being a dashboard for someone holding a phone in a warehouse.
Where dashboard cards stop
Adaptive Card Extensions — the mechanism behind Viva dashboard cards — are genuinely capable within their format, and genuinely constrained by it:
- Small, fixed card sizes. You do not get a page; you get a tile.
- A quick view, which can show a bit more, but is not a full interface.
- No tables worth reading on a phone. Anything with columns belongs behind the tap, not on the card.
- Building a custom one is SPFx development, with the same toolchain, packaging and maintenance as any other component.
So the sequence that works is: card shows the number, tap opens the page, the page has the web part that does the work. Trying to fit the work into the card is how Viva projects end up over budget.
Which to invest in first
| If your problem is… | Start with |
|---|---|
| Frontline staff never open the intranet | Viva Connections — it meets them in Teams on their phone |
| People cannot find things | Information architecture, honestly, before either of these |
| A team needs a tracker, dashboard or directory | A web part on a page |
| Leadership wants adoption numbers | Viva, which brings its own surfacing and analytics |
| A process is manual and error-prone | A list plus a flow — neither of these two is the fix |
One thing that makes both cheaper: components built on a single approved package are available wherever the package is, so the same tracker can render on the intranet page and, if the package exposes it, inside Teams — without a second deployment or a second security review. That is the model described in the Sharelio security dossier.
Frequently asked questions
Does Viva Connections need a separate licence?
Viva Connections is included with Microsoft 365 in current plans; other Viva modules are licensed separately and the packaging has changed more than once. Check what your specific agreement includes before planning around it, and treat any advice more than a year old about Viva licensing with suspicion.
Can we put our existing web parts on the Viva dashboard?
Not directly. The dashboard uses Adaptive Card Extensions, which are a different component type from web parts, so an existing web part does not simply appear there. What works well is a card that links to the page holding the web part — which is the intended pattern rather than a workaround.
Is Viva Connections worth it if everyone already uses the intranet?
Less so. Its strongest case is reaching people who live in Teams or on a phone and rarely open a browser tab for the intranet — frontline, field and shift workers. If your whole organisation is desk-based and already visits the intranet, the effort is usually better spent on the pages themselves.
Do we need a developer for Viva dashboard cards?
For the cards Microsoft provides and the standard link and web-link cards, no. For a custom card, yes: building an Adaptive Card Extension is SPFx development, with the same build toolchain, packaging and ongoing maintenance as a web part. Budget for it the same way.