M365 PowerShell

Track Empty Groups in Microsoft 365

An empty group in Microsoft 365 refers to a group that has no members assigned to it. This can apply to various types of groups within Microsoft 365, such as Microsoft 365 Groups, Distribution Groups, Security Groups, or Mail-Enabled Security Groups.

What Does It Mean?

No Active Members: The group currently has no users, devices, or other objects assigned as members.
Potential Cleanup Target: Empty groups may be considered for cleanup or deletion since they are not currently in use.
Placeholders: Sometimes empty groups are created in advance for future use, where members will be added later as needed.
Permissions and Access Control: For security or administrative purposes, an empty group can exist with defined permissions and access rights, ready to be populated when needed.

Why Might a Group Be Empty?

Newly Created: The group has been recently created, and members have not yet been added.
Temporary Removal: All members have been temporarily removed for administrative reasons or in preparation for a reorganization.
Inactivity: The group was previously used but has since had its members removed, possibly due to changes in team structure or project completion.
Testing: The group is used for testing purposes, where members are added and removed frequently.
Provisioning: In some automated provisioning processes, groups might be created before users or devices are assigned to them.

Implications of Empty Groups

No Communication: If it's a Microsoft 365 Group or Distribution Group, it cannot facilitate communication (emails, shared files, etc.) since there are no recipients.
Unused Permissions: If it's a Security Group or Mail-Enabled Security Group, the permissions assigned to the group are not utilized.
Organizational Clutter: Multiple empty groups can contribute to organizational clutter and make it harder to manage groups effectively.
Resource Consumption: Although the resource usage of an empty group is minimal, having many such groups might complicate administrative tasks.

Use Cases for Maintaining Empty Groups

Predefined Access Control: Keep predefined access control structures that can quickly be utilized by adding members as needed.
Template Groups: Use empty groups as templates for quickly creating new groups with predefined settings and permissions.
Organizational Planning: Maintain groups in anticipation of future projects or organizational changes where members will be added later.

Tracking Empty Groups Using Graph PowerShell

Administrators can periodically review and manage empty groups to ensure the directory remains organized and efficient. Here’s a PowerShell script to find empty groups in Microsoft 365:

# Ensure the Microsoft.Graph module is installed and imported
Install-Module -Name Microsoft.Graph -Force -AllowClobber
Import-Module Microsoft.Graph

# Connect to Microsoft Graph
Connect-MgGraph -Scopes "Group.Read.All"

# Fetch all groups
$AllGroups = Get-MgGroup -All

# Filter out empty groups
$EmptyGroups = $AllGroups | Where-Object { (Get-MgGroupMember -GroupId $_.Id).Count -eq 0 }

# Display the results
$EmptyGroups | Select-Object DisplayName, Id, GroupTypes

Conclusion

Understanding and managing empty groups in Microsoft 365 is important for maintaining a clean and efficient directory structure. While empty groups can serve various administrative and organizational purposes, they should be regularly reviewed to ensure they are still necessary and relevant to the organization’s needs.

Using Get-MgDirectoryRole in Graph PowerShell
Using Get-MgUserLicenseDetail in Graph PowerShell
Using Find-GraphMgCommand in Graph PowerShell
Connect to Microsoft 365 Using PowerShell
How to Create Bulk Users in Office 365 Using Graph PowerShell?
Create Microsoft 365 Group Using Microsoft Graph PowerShell
Block Microsoft 365 User Using Microsoft Graph PowerShell
Assign Microsoft 365 License Using Graph PowerShell
Microsoft 365 User Management Using Graph PowerShell
Checking Group Membership in Microsoft 365
Bulk Assign Microsoft 365 License
Find Inactive Users in Microsoft 365
Using Powershell Graph Search Query
Using Powershell Graph Filter Query
Using Where-Object In Graph PowerShell
Using Expand Property In Graph PowerShell
Using Select Object In Graph PowerShell
Using -Contains Operator In Graph PowerShell
Add User to Multiple Microsoft 365 Groups Using Graph PowerShell
Get Microsoft 365 User Location Using Graph PowerShell
Import Microsoft 365 Groups from CSV File Using Graph PowerShell
Microsoft 365 Group User Import Using Graph PowerShell