SharePoint vs. OneDrive: Best Practices for Businesses
Collaboration is vital in today’s digital world. A platform with file-sharing and document editing capabilities can enhance team collaboration and boost productivity. Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive can do this, but they excel in different ways.
OneDrive and SharePoint serve different purposes, and using them correctly can boost your organisation’s productivity.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the differences between Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive. The ins and outs of both platforms and how you can use both within your organisation. We’ll also examine some best practices so you can hit the ground running.
What is SharePoint?
Microsoft SharePoint is Microsoft’s collaboration platform. It’s a secure hub for organising and sharing information/documents, fostering collaboration.
SharePoint aims to make your organisation more productive while also letting you streamline your organisation’s business processes. Its comprehensive feature set, with unique features are —
Document Versioning: Using Microsoft SharePoint, you can maintain multiple versions of documents. This lets you track changes and revert to previous iterations if necessary while also preventing conflicts in editing.
Enterprise Search: SharePoint lets you search your organisation. Its robust search functionality allows you to index your organisation extensively to find what you need. The search feature supports advanced filtering, metadata-based search, and customisable search scopes, making it incredibly powerful.
Customisable Workflows: SharePoint streamlines workflows with Power Automate and SharePoint Designer.
Content Management: SharePoint lets you enforce content management policies to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and maintain internal governance standards. You can define policies for retention, expiration, and disposal, meaning that the content lifecycle is more streamlined than ever.
Business Intelligence: Microsoft Power BI enables quick analysis and visualization of data when integrated with SharePoint for business intelligence.
Social Collaboration: Using blogs, wikis, and other different social collaboration tools and features, SharePoint fosters a more unified workplace.
What is OneDrive?
OneDrive is a cloud-based platform that allows for file storage, synchronization, and convenient collaboration with Microsoft 365 tools.
OneDrive allows users to store files in the cloud for easy access and collaboration within the 365 ecosystem. Some of its key features include —
Files On-Demand: OneDrive allows easy access to all files without downloading or saving storage.
Personal Vault: Your OneDrive Personal Vault is a secure area where you can store files that require additional security measures.
Automatic Photo and Video Backup: OneDrive automatically backs up photos and videos from mobile devices to the cloud.
Collaborative Editing in 365: Collaborate with coworkers in real-time with OneDrive’s seamless integration into theMicrosoft 365 ecosystem.
Comparing SharePoint and OneDrive
SharePoint and OneDrive are not competitors. They exist for different use cases and are often used together to serve various purposes within your organisation.
SharePoint is geared toward team collaboration and enterprise-level document management, whereas OneDrive is for personal file storage and individual productivity. Where SharePoint has tools to improve organisational workflow, OneDrive increases personal productivity and security and works with the end user.
Both solutions seamlessly integrate OneDrive with SharePoint, so your employees can enjoy the benefits of both applications.
Best Practices
Here are some best practices and ways to use both applications in your organisation.
Established Clear Governance Policies: Clear governance policies help you take control of your organisation’s file management.
Define Use Cases: To use OneDrive, focus on personal file storage and individual productivity. SharePoint is better for team collaboration and holistic management.
Integrate Seamlessly: Ensuring seamless integration between OneDrive and SharePoint will facilitate smooth workflows and collaboration. You can use SharePoint for the backend file management while using OneDrive to allow users to access and sync files.
Educate Users: There’s no point implementing new systems into your organisation if people don’t know how to utilise them. Educating your employees and ensuring everyone knows what they’re doing will help the implementation of SharePoint and OneDrive together go more smoothly.
How We Can Help
Microsoft SharePoint and OneDrive are powerful tools your organisation can leverage to take advantage of file management and collaboration.
SharePoint and OneDrive can be used together in an organisation. SharePoint provides enterprise file management, while OneDrive is for personal file management.
If you’re looking to get started with OneDrive and SharePoint but don’t know where to start, contact us today. Our experts are here to help you hit the ground running. They will ensure that you’re ready to go with file management within your organisation — letting you boost your organisation’s productivity to the next level.
