If you are reading this post, then you, like majority of Office 365 users are wondering which of the two major file collaboration/sharing options you should use within your organization. This is a frequently asked question by many users and I would like to explain both options and set the record straight, once and for all (yeah, right!)

What is OneDrive for Business?

In short, OneDrive for Business is a personal file sharing/storage solution. Think of it as Microsoft’s version of DropBox. To be fair, they do vary in some functionality, but conceptually, they are kind of the same thing. The key takeaway here is that it is a personal drive of a user. In other words, if you were to purchase OneDrive for Business, you have to associate it with the named user/owner in your organization. Whoever owns OneDrive for Business – has the ability to upload, delete and yes, share individual files and folders with other users. However, at the end of the day – the thing to remember is that the owner of OneDrive for Business is the boss and has keys to the vault. Should this user leave the organization or not be available – you will have a big matzo ball to deal with. As an Administrator, you can still access that user’s files – that’s not a problem. However, you might now have important company documents residing in a unfamiliar folder structure – good luck figuring out what needs to stay or be migrated and what is the latest version.

Example of OneDrive for Business account

What is SharePoint?

SharePoint can’t be described in one sentence. It is a company (enterprise) collaboration tool that allows organizations to store, share and collaborate on different types of content. The primary feature of SharePoint is an ability to create multiple sites with different levels of security to correspond to different business needs of an organization. Without going into technical details, the key takeaway here is that SharePoint is not associated with individual user, but rather, the whole company (organization). While individual SharePoint Sites could be owned by just 1 user (Site Owner), physically they are part of an organization Intranet framework/footprint and access to the site can easily be altered via Security groups and permissions by SharePoint Administrator. Moreover, unlike OneDrive for Business, SharePoint allows to store other types of content, not just files and folders. Examples of other types of content could be tasks, calendar events, contacts, etc. In addition, SharePoint is really a broad platform/eco-system, which allows you to build comprehensive Intranets, interface to other systems and automate your business processes. So in reality – you can’t really compare OneDrive for Business to SharePoint – they are in totally different leagues. It would be like comparing a bicycle to a rocket ship.

Example of SharePoint Department Site

So shall I use OneDrive for Business or SharePoint?

Coming back to the original question, the answer is: it depends. However, let me be loud and clear about this advice:

Do not use OneDrive for Business for Department or Project collaboration or as organization’s Intranet!

Mark my words. You will regret it if you do. If all you need is to share and collaborate few personal files and folders with rest of your employees/users, and that is literally all you need to do, you might be fine with OneDrive for Business.

However, if you have a team of users who are collaborating on documents, or you want to have tighter control about security or you require additional functionalities for your project (i.e. Tasks), SharePoint Team Site is the way to go.

The reason why many organizations start with OneDrive for Business, is because there is very little or no setup for it. With such low barrier to entry, OneDrive for Business seems like a sensible choice if you need something fast. With SharePoint, on another hand, you have to setup the site, configure it to make it user-friendly, make sure you think through Site Architecture, security, navigation, etc. However, at the end of the day, you are getting a site that is secure, part of your organization’s Intranet and most importantly belongs to an organization.

The analogy here would be a choice of your next meal when you are hungry. You can either go to fast food restaurant, chew a burger within 2 minutes or you can go to a family-style restaurant, order a homemade meal, wait for 20-30 minutes for it to be prepared, and pay little more than you would for fast food. Both options will achieve your objectives in short-term, however, the consequences of your decisions will become apparent in long term.

Need help with SharePoint?

As an independent SharePoint & Office 365 Consultant and certified Project Management Professional (PMP), I help small businesses and non-profits unlock the power of SharePoint so they can improve the bottom-line business results.

My code-free, out-of-the-box SharePoint solutions include: SharePoint/Office 365 Migration, Document Management and Training to small businesses and non-profits. As an independent consultant who works virtually and remotely, my services cost a fraction of what you typically would pay SharePoint consulting firms.

Contact me at greg@sharepointmaven.com if you need help with SharePoint/Office 365 in your organization.

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