Item: OneDrive
Rating: 10
Author: Michael J Mandeville

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

OneDrive is being utilized by the support areas of the department to share important information. It is more robust than a network drive in that files are not 'locked down' by a single user, there aren't multiple copied being emailed around, and access control is possible. It is also possible to share files/documents with users in other areas of the company easily.

Pros and Cons

Shared files.
Collaborative editing.
Access control.
Mobile access.

Too many options for access.
Unclear structure at times.

Return on Investment

Better collaboration.
Up-to-date meeting notes and agendas.
Less 'clutter'.

Alternatives Considered

Dropbox

I prefer OneDrive over Dropbox because of the deep integration with Microsoft Office. I've used OneDrive since it was SkyDrive and it's come a long way. Dropbox has its place and it's own pros and cons, but OneDrive is more transparent and better suited to environments that want to collaborate within an Office 365 environment.

Support Rating

Getting actual help from Microsoft support is difficult, but there are a lot of articles, forums, etc. with a lot of helpful information to get you through. It's not super difficult to figure out, but Microsoft has done themselves a disservice with the naming schema of Teams, SharePoint Groups, Groups, OneDrive, OneNote, etc. and making the way in which files are accessed look different depending on where you access them from. Navigating to Group/Team files via the browser through Outlook on the Web is different than navigating through Windows Explorer (if you're syncing files), which is different than navigating through the Team application (which auto-creates a 'Group' on the backend which is essentially a SharePoint Team Site but not).

Key Insights

Do you think OneDrive delivers good value for the price?

Yes

Are you happy with OneDrive's feature set?

Yes

Did OneDrive live up to sales and marketing promises?

I wasn't involved with the selection/purchase process

Did implementation of OneDrive go as expected?

I wasn't involved with the implementation phase

Would you buy OneDrive again?

Yes

Likelihood to Recommend

OneDrive is best suited to any environment where files are utilized and need to be shared. It is best suited to an organization that utilizes Office 365 for the office productivity suite, as collaborative editing is available in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, etc. There is a bit of a learning curve for people used to the 'email me a copy of that' and 'I'll get that off the network drive' mentality. Microsoft has not made it easy to understand the nuances of SharePoint, Outlook Groups, Teams, and OneDrive.

Best Cloud Storage/Collaboration Software

Overall Satisfaction with OneDrive