Microsoft OneDrive for Business
Overview
Microsoft OneDrive for Business (OneDrive) is included in Microsoft 365 plans or it can be purchased as a “standalone plan”.
OneDrive accounts is an online storage space provided for individual licensed users in an organization: it helps to protect users work files, to access them across multiple devices and provides the user with the ability to share files and to collaborate on documents and to sync files: it represents, nowadays, a fundamental tool for personal daily productivity.
The Solution
These are the main OneDrive for Business features:
- Synchronization the PCs and/or Macs and/or mobile devices (Smartphones and Tablets) by installing the specific app
- Access from anywhere :ccess, edit and share the files from all the user devices
- If for any reason a device is no longer available (theft, breakdown,…), the documents will not be lost if previously saved/synchronized on OneDrive
- All archived files are Private: it is the user who decides with which internal/external people (based on company policy) to share their documents, deciding who can access/modify each file
When we, as Indacon, discuss about OneDrive for Business to our customers, our goal is to highlight how its centralized management can allow them greater control of company data, resulting also in an improvement in security, thanks to the possibility of defining:
- How files/documents are shared inside/outside the organization
- The time frame for which a link is valid
- how to block the synchronization of specific file types
- the data synchronization even for Domain Joined computers only
Furthermore, it is fundamental to underline the advantages obtained from the native integration with the other solutions included in Microsoft 365:
- Microsoft Defender for Office 365 properly configured, allows to detect and block files identified as harmful in OneDrive
- Thanks to the reports (Usage Report) available in the Microsoft 365 console, it is possible to have a general overview of its use and analyze user trends and behavior (number of files users interact with, shared files, storage resources used,…), with the ability to view details for individual accounts
- When sharing documents within a chat in Microsoft Teams , the attachment is automatically saved in OneDrive
- It is possible not only to share but also to work simultaneously (Co-Authoring) on documents with the colleagues
The benefits for the OneDrive users
- The person is out of office without his PC and ne needs to consult a document synchronized with his OneDrive: by accessing his OneDrive from another device he can access, read and/or modify it
- Accessibility problems to the PC data due, for example, to the failure of the Hard Disk: he may access the OneDrive also via an Internet Browser
- When a user changes the PC, he is able, taking advantage of the replication/synchronization from the “cloud” to the new PC, to have the (synchonized) data also on the news PC place quickly and automatically
- Increase of the user data storage capacity, with the possibility of defining which data must be kept “locally” on PC and which only in “OneDrive” (Cloud)
Our Proposal
The activity is based on an initial “round table” with the customer, in order to analyze the company rules in place, regarding on how the data is accessed and shared inside and outside the organization.
The result of this preliminary phase translates into:
- The design of policies to implement in OneDrive
- The activation and the configuration of the OneDrive app on the users devices
If necessary and requested, the activity may include also an “HOW-TO” document for end users, with the “STEP BY STEP” procedures of the main operations that can be performed with Microsoft OneDrive for Business (for example: how to share document with a specific person)