OneDrive for Business is Microsoft’s cloud-based file store, with many features that make it compelling for business users who need to get work done without the technology getting in the way.
After several years of development under the Microsoft 365 banner, it is a robust product with many extra bells and whistles. That makes OneDrive an easy and effective way for any business to move into the cloud.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits of using OneDrive for businesses
The flexibility to work anywhere, any time
Flexible working is key to business success, whether it is to ensure business survival in a crisis or to offer a better work-life balance that helps organisations attract and retain the best talent.
OneDrive for Business is an important component in enabling flexible working because of the ease in which you can access all your data across a range of devices.
At the heart of many UK business are the ‘knowledge workers’; the designers, consultants, advisers and creators of information who typically work at a PC. For them, OneDrive looks like business as usual – all the familiar files and folders are on their computer, just as they always have been. The OneDrive magic happens in the background, without interrupting the busy computer user.
On a PC, the OneDrive client software takes care of synchronising the changes to files and folders back to the Microsoft cloud-based store. This is the heart of the OneDrive service and the first element of working anywhere, any time. Because it is a cloud-based data store, you can access your data via a web browser on almost any computer. Coupled with the Microsoft 365 web-based apps (Word, Excel, etc) you can also edit those files via the browser, all the time maintaining your security.
Naturally, you can also access your OneDrive data on mobile devices. Browse and view documents on your phone or tablet and use the Microsoft web applications to make changes to them.
With OneDrive in place, you truly have the flexibility to work anywhere and any time you need to. Work from home, work in the office, it doesn’t matter.
OneDrive is an easy transition to the Cloud
One thing everyone loves is familiarity. On a typical business PC, OneDrive replaces the ‘My Documents’ folder. Simply carry on working on your PC as you always have done. It’s as easy as that. Online or offline, you can carry on working.
Cost isn’t a barrier either. If you use Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365), you already have OneDrive for Business as part of your subscription. Each user is assigned a massive 1TB of space, so managing disk space will not be an issue either.
Improve teamwork
Once your team has started using OneDrive, they can exploit the features that make team working easier and more effective. Sharing files or folders with other people is a breeze, enabling people to create ad hoc teams as they need to. There are no worries about losing track of who you might have shared information with; the browser-based OneDrive control panel includes a ‘Shared’ section so you can monitor all files and folders shared by you or that other people have shared with you.
Now you have shared files you can start to really power up with OneDrive. How about co-authoring of documents, enabling multiple people to work on the same document at the same time? It is easy to do and impressive to see in action.
With all this data being shared between team members, you might need an intelligent search facility to find what you need. As you would expect, a search facility is built into OneDrive to help you find anything in your files or files that have been shared with you. OneDrive for Business also includes Discover, which we will look at later.
Get work done more easily
The world never stops and Microsoft, it seems, never stops developing Microsoft 365. There is a constant stream of innovation and new technologies, all aimed at helping improve productivity and making our working lives easier. Let’s take a look at a few of these features.
Discover view
Discover is a cloud-based service that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to work out what content in your OneDrive store is most likely to be relevant to you, based on who you work with and what you’re working on. It works in the background to present relevant information to you instead of you spending your time searching for it. It’s like an AI magnet that draws the needle out of the haystack for you and a great example of using the power of the cloud to help you work better.
Scan straight into OneDrive
Use your phone or other mobile device to scan business cards, receipts etc straight into OneDrive. If your receipts folder is shared with your finance team, all you need to do is point and shoot, job done.
Document review and approval
If you have an approvals process for certain documents, use Flow to manage that process, all within OneDrive. Select your document, tell OneDrive which people need to approve it, and off it goes. Learn more about the benefits of OneDrive Migration in detail.
I hope this information will be helpful!
Mark Wilson