ONEDRIVE FOR EVERYDAY USERS
WHAT EXACTLY IS ONEDRIVE?
“OneDrive” is a personal cloud-based storage platform provided by Microsoft that is connected to your Windows 10 (and above operating systems) computer. OneDrive is short for OneDrive for Home on Windows – where you can access your OneDrive files and folders in File Explorer, from OneDrive.com or the OneDrive app on your mobile devices.
OneDrive is essentially a personal share on a drive in the cloud where you the user can access it from anywhere, any device, and can create, upload and share files – photos, documents with whomever you wish, i.e. friends, family and/or colleagues. If you lose any of your devices, you can still access your files and folders from anywhere once you have logged into OneDrive.
You must have a Microsoft account to use OneDrive. You can sign in to your OneDrive account using one of your devices. When you sign in to Windows 10 with one or more Microsoft account, OneDrive syncs your files and folders to the cloud and vice versa.
To summarise, OneDrive allows you to;
- Access content from all your devices.
- Share inside or outside your organisation.
- Work together in real-time on Office documents.
- Quickly find the files and folders that matter to you.
- Keep your files and folders protected and backed up.
View – how to sign in to OneDrive with an existing Microsoft account or sign up on the OneDrive homepage @ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/onedrive/online-cloud-storage
ONEDRIVE FOR HOME
“OneDrive for Home” is your personal storage space on a drive in the cloud. OneDrive for Home is also referred to as “OneDrive”. It comes with Microsoft 365 (M365) plans like M365 Family, M365 Personal, OneDrive 100GB, and OneDrive Basic 5GB.
Your space in the cloud is such that you can access your files and folders from your computer, through a browser at www.onedrive.com or through the OneDrive mobile app. Your Windows 10 computer comes pre-installed with the OneDrive app.
Tip – If you do not have Windows 10 or Microsoft Office, you can download the free OneDrive sync app file named “OneDriveSetup.exe” @ https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/onedrive/download.
Initially, a free storage space of up to 5GB is offered to a user with a Microsoft or Windows account. You have many options available that you can upgrade to through a monthly subscription. Figure 1 illustrates the different upgrade plans on offer.
Figure 1 – OneDrive for Home starter plan and upgrade plans
ONEDRIVE FOR WORK OR SCHOOL
Tip – The OneDrive desktop app is included with Windows 10 and will sync your files and folders with your OneDrive for Home account when you’ve signed into Windows with a Microsoft account. The app can also sync your OneDrive for Work or School files and folders when you add that account.
View – more information regarding OneDrive service description @ https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office365/servicedescriptions/onedrive-for-business-service-description.
“OneDrive for Work or School” is an enhanced OneDrive version provided by your company or your educational institution (a body or organisation) when they subscribe to a M365 plan. It was once known as "OneDrive for Business". You can still find references to the old name when you search that phrase at https://support.microsoft.com. Your organisation will provide you with a ready to use computer credentials linked to your OneDrive for Work or School account.
Unlike OneDrive for Home – the consumer version, OneDrive for Work or School is marketed to businesses and educational institutions as a solution for employees’ personal storage within their organisation’s M365 tenant. It is an employee’s secure personal drive. Your organisation is the owner of the OneDrive for Work or School accounts and will have a support structure in place to manage said accounts.
OneDrive for Work or School features is extended with additional administration features to suit business environments. When an employee joins an organisation, permission is granted, and access is given to their personal storage. Likewise when they leave their permissions are removed. In theory, this is what should happen when the administration runs smoothly.
There is a limit to the number of accounts that can be signed in and syncing: each device may only have a maximum of one OneDrive for Home account and nine OneDrive for Work or School accounts. The limitations of the OneDrive app will be covered later on in this article.
If your organisation uses SharePoint sites, you can also use OneDrive for Work or School to access files and folders from these sites on your device. This feature in OneDrive for Work or School is covered in Chapter 4 (of the book) – Sections of your OneDrive Work or School landing page.
OneDrive for Work or School offers M365 Business Basic, M365 Business Standard, M365 Business Premium, and M365 Apps and plans as illustrated in Figure 2. Table 1 also illustrates the differences between the two types of accounts.
Figure 2 – OneDrive for Work or School starter plan and upgrade plans
ONEDRIVE FOR HOME AND WORK OR SCHOOL COMPARISON
Table 1 – OneDrive account comparisons
ONEDRIVE FOR HOME AND WORK OR SCHOOL SUMMARY
- OneDrive comes with two types of accounts; that being OneDrive for Home and OneDrive for Work or School.
- OneDrive for Home is Microsoft’s consumer-focused cloud and works with personal Outlook accounts.
- OneDrive for Work or School works with M365 business plans and SharePoint team sites.
- OneDrive for Work or School comes with additional organisation and administration capabilities.
READ MORE…
The book: “OneDrive for Everyday Users”;
- Author: Meatau Larry Saytee
- Language: English
- Edition: 1st
- Direct Link: https://bookboon.com/en/onedrive-for-everyday-users-ebook
- PREMIUM Users: https://bookboon.com/premium/books/onedrive-for-everyday-users
- Tags: #onedriveforbusiness #onedrive #SharePoint2016 #SharePoint2019 #sharepointonline #sharepoint #filesharing #dropbox
About the Author;
Meatau Larry Saytee has over a decade of experience in the SharePoint space both in the on-premise and cloud platforms. He has written several articles on the SharePoint subject matter for various audiences.
He strongly believes what seems to be complicated as far as understanding and usability of such a powerful platform can be easily explained through simple concise instructions and illustrations.
Many thanks, Larry Saytee