What is OneDrive?
OneDrive is a file hosting service operated by Microsoft which allows users to upload and sync their files to the cloud.
Three Key features
- File storage and sharing
- Co-authoring for Office documents
- Desktop synchronization
Interface
OneDrive is available on Windows on desktops, web browsers and mobile applications.
Top 3 Favorites from OneDrive
- Integrates well with other Microsoft applications
Gone are the days where users will attach a copy of an excel file to an outlook email. With modern attachments, users will be able to attach a link and customize the permission for the link shared to the other users. With this feature, users no longer have to worry about permission and the size of the file to share with others.
- Sync files from OneDrive and SharePoint
One of the coolest feature on the OneDrive sync client is the ability to sync other SharePoint sites on your file explorer as well. In addition, users have the flexibility to choose which folders they want to sync. This is particularly useful at times when our devices have physical restrictions such as limited hard disk space.
- Keep files online or offline only
With OneDrive, users will be able to access files anywhere and anytime. For each file, there will be a small icon as shown in the following picture to indicate whether the file is online-only or always available even when the user is not connected to the internet.
Improvements from User Voice
At the top of my personal list
- File syncing speed, especially for users with >100,000 files
- Ignore and exclude certain folders from the sync process (E.g. Node modules for developers)
- Renaming of OneDrive — Company Name folder due to long file path issue
Exciting Updates for OneDrive
Announced on July 2020
- Sync admin reports — Visibility and insight of adoption and health of OneDrive sync app
- Enhanced file protection and governance — Sensitivity labels, OTPs and automatic expiration of external access
Conclusion
Overall, OneDrive in 2020 has definitely improved significantly as compared to its predecessor sync client Groove. It is pretty amazing how Microsoft integrates OneDrive with other applications such as Outlook and Teams. However, i do agree that there is still room for improvement such as the file syncing speed as well as making the application more developer friendly. Hence, users of OneDrive such as myself will definitely look forward to more improvements as Microsoft engineers continue to include new updates to their road map.
References
User Voice: https://onedrive.uservoice.com/forums/913522
OneDrive for Enteprise: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/onedrive/plan-onedrive-enterprise
Files On Demand: https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/office/sync-files-with-onedrive-files-on-demand-1ab17c60-af03-4c63-a24c-bb1e131f76c9?ui=en-us&rs=en-gb&ad=gb
OneDrive July updates: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/07/01/introducing-new-onedrive-features-to-share-and-collaborate-across-work-and-life/?ocid=usoc_TWITTER_M365_spl100001382094445
