Item: OneDrive
Rating: 8
Author: Dave Becker

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We use OneDrive as our company's cloud file storage system. Every document that is to be saved to a hard drive, is also uploaded to OneDrive as an added protection. It allows us to retrieve files from anywhere we have internet access, share files with other employees and allows us to link to files from one central point.

Pros and Cons

Drag and drop uploading is very easy to use.
The ability to create folders to help organize files is nice.

When uploading a new version of a file, with the same file name, OneDrive often looks as if it's beginning to upload the new version but then after a moment, freezes and prompts you to approve the overwrite. It's enough of a pause that you think you don't need to do anything and the file will upload, only to come back and find out that nothing has actually happened. It just takes too long to realize that it's the same file name.
Moving a file from one destination in OneDrive to another (from one folder to another, for instance) is very clunky.

Return on Investment

We are able to update a file in one central point and have all links to that file updated simultaneously, saving us time and ensuring we have the most up to date information being shared.
We've had several instances where we have had device failure and lost hundreds if not thousands of files from a device but have been able to recover those files from OneDrive's cloud storage.

Alternatives Considered

Box, Dropbox, Dropbox Business, Google Drive and Apple iCloud

OneDrive is included in our Microsoft suite of products so there was no additional cost for us to use it. We use OneDrive for that reason mainly. For the most part, it does what you expect a cloud storage system to do, and it does it fairly well. For a larger group (10 or more users) OneDrive performs to our expectations.

Support Rating

Support seems to be limited, in my experience, to the general help articles offered online. Luckily we haven't experienced anything that has required more research than looking through those articles, and I can't imagine a scenario where you would need more support than that. Still, it would be nice to have a knowledgable person available to help you when an issue arises.

Key Insights

Do you think OneDrive delivers good value for the price?

Not sure

Are you happy with OneDrive's feature set?

Yes

Did OneDrive live up to sales and marketing promises?

Yes

Did implementation of OneDrive go as expected?

Yes

Would you buy OneDrive again?

Yes

Other Software Used

Box, Dropbox, Dropbox Business, Google Drive, Apple iCloud

Likelihood to Recommend

We have the entire Microsoft suite of products, so OneDrive was included in our plan. It made sense to use it as our default cloud storage system. We use it across our organization and it is accessed by over 100 users from our company. OneDrive allows us to share files with all of them pretty well. If you are a smaller organization or don't use Microsoft products, there are better fits for a lesser cost.

Cloud Storage Solution for Microsoft Suite Users

Overall Satisfaction with OneDrive