How do your employees store and share files? Do they use OneDrive for Business?
Everyone is taking care of business. They wake up every morning by the alarm clock’s warning, head into “the city” and push and shove their way to an earned wage as the song goes. Back in the day, technology was advancing but we didn’t have the convenient tools we have now. OneDrive is a convenient tool to help improve your file storage and sharing capabilities.
Before we dive into what OneDrive has to offer, let’s jog your memory of the product. You may recall SkyDrive. Think of it like the The Artist Formally Known as Prince; OneDrive is the cloud storage service formally known as SkyDrive. OneDrive is built to the current Windows applications making it accessible through Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows RT and Macs on the desktop. You can also access OneDrive through other mobile devices such as tablets and smartphone through the mobile app version. It is available for Windows, iOS and Android phones. Another cool feature for accessing OneDrive is Xbox One and Xbox 360. With all of these options, your files are always conveniently accessible for sharing.
OneDrive markets itself very similar to other cloud storage services: “One place for all your documents, photos, videos and more”. Google Drive states it is “one place for all your files”. Dropbox defines itself as a free service that lets you bring your files anywhere to share them easily. Each cloud storage service offers easy access through desktop and mobile applications. So what’s the difference between them all? For the purposes of this blog, what makes OneDrive stand out? Business users.
In this world of fast mass communication, having a business component to your cloud base service is a way to separate your service from the pack. With the business portion of OneDrive, it offers more upfront to the average user. Take a look at the chart below from Microsoft. OneDrive offers 7GB of free storage just for signing up. This is less than Google Drive (15GB) but more than Apple iCloud (5GB) and Dropbox (2GB). On top of that Apple iCloud has restrictions such as you can only store specific types of files, and work documents can be accessed separately through iWork. OneDrive offers more in that it allows for more open collaboration with others as MS Office is an open work space across the web. For the business users, here’s where it gets fun.
When your company has an Office 365 subscription, your company can receive OneDrive for business with 20GB per person. Office 365 users also have SharePoint for file management and sharing. Think of it like this: SharePoint is the intranet for the entire company where as OneDrive is like a folder on the intranet. You can share all important company wide information on SharePoint; however, OneDrive is home to your personal files. You can upload files from OneDrive to SharePoint to share to everyone or choose OneDrive to share files directly to individuals within the company. Make sense?
No matter the size of your business, OneDrive for Business can help improve your file sharing needs by offering cloud based storage with easy access. Simply put, you only need one drive for all your files. If you use another cloud based storage and file sharing service, leave us a mesage. Let us know how well it serves you and what you think about OneDrive.