OneDrive for Business adoption guidance

Introduction

The ultimate benefit of cloud storage is the ubiquitous access to all your files and the ability to collaborate remotely and securely from any device. OneDrive for Business is one of the most powerful Microsoft 365 apps which helps users to save their documents in cloud, backed up and protected. You can easily use OneDrive for Business app on web, desktop and mobile to access your personal documents, and also files shared with you from other team members.

Further in this blog, we will read about the advantages of having OneDrive for Business at workplace and how to increase its adoption to get its full value. Let’s begin –

Why to make OneDrive your official storage solution

• Firstly, without a dedicated cloud storage, it can be dissuading for remote users to rapidly share and exchange information via emails which generates coordination challenges. With OneDrive, users can store all their files in one central location and experience real-life benefits of it. For example, users can have more control when documents are shared via links instead of sending static attachments via email.
• Secondly, OneDrive enables users to share content with external users securely and effortlessly. Users can terminate collaboration on files whenever they want. They can decide who can access, view, or edit their content and disable downloads or prints.
• Thirdly, when using OneDrive, users do not need to worry about their network bandwidth utilization while working on large files from home as OneDrive syncs only the changes in the file instead of the entire file. Also, smart upload management enables OneDrive to upload data in the background by only consuming unused bandwidth and not interfere with other applications using the network.
• Additionally, admins can take advantage of business management capabilities of OneDrive which ensures that no valuable corporate data is shared accidentally by end-users. By configuring most advanced features in OneDrive, admins can provide greater flexibility to users while keeping data safe.

As an organization, if you have decided to deploy OneDrive for your users, it is imperative to have an adoption plan in place before you make a transition. This is so because simplified adoption facilitates users to gradually change their old ways of organizing files and hence, helps in boosting user adoption for OneDrive for Business.

How to increase OneDrive adoption organically

OneDrive for Business is less complex as compared to other M365 apps such as MS Teams, SharePoint, and Excel and easy to implement. Yet, OneDrive adoption can go off track if users are not given proper guidance to use it effectively. When deploying Microsoft 365, here are a few considerations to boost adoption for OneDrive for Business simultaneously with MS Teams, SharePoint and other apps –

1. Communicate & provide user training

Convey the purpose behind using OneDrive for Business to your end users at the initial stage of deployment. OneDrive for Business is more than just a cloud storage app. Being incorporated with enterprise-level features, advanced security, versioning and sharing capabilities and more, it also ensures effective teamwork and online collaboration. It is important to inform your end users about all its unique and powerful features to understand its full potential. Provide training using specific use cases and enable them to explore OneDrive to easily adapt to the platform.

To learn about OneDrive for enterprises, please click here.

2. Give context on how OneDrive can make them do their jobs efficiently

Users must know how using OneDrive can simplify storage and sharing options for them to make their lives easier. Ensure that they know how to make the best use of it to enhance their productivity and collaboration. Teach them about the advantages of using OneDrive over traditional solutions to avoid reluctance.

For example, OneDrive allows users to work even offline if there occurs an internet issue. Next, using version control settings, users can stay relevant with the latest changes made by a coworker in the department. Native integration with Microsoft Teams and Outlook also enables users to drop links to their files in cloud directly within their conversations. This ensures that everyone is using the latest version of the document.

3. Know OneDrive limitations & analyze your content

To avoid hassles during the transition, you must familiarize yourself with the limitations that OneDrive has on the content it can host. For example, for migration to OneDrive for Business, the file size limit is up to 15 GB. Further, one can migrate file or folder structure, documents, and user level file or folder permissions but can’t migrate explicit deny permissions, hidden attributes, embedded URLs, corrupt documents etc. Also, OneDrive doesn’t support invalid characters in file or folder names, long file or folder paths and certain extensions. Hence, you need to analyze what content you can migrate and what not and choose an alternative to experience a smooth adoption by users.

4. Plan about OneDrive governance

To have a better control on data, businesses must set some rules and policies to restrict what can be shared via OneDrive and what can’t be. Using governance, you can configure expiration policies on externally shared links or set custom passwords for tighter security. It helps to manage compliance across Microsoft 365 including OneDrive and determines what should and what should not be stored in cloud.

Moreover, automating governance makes it extremely easy for admins to manage all aspects of M365 management including OneDrive efficiently. Automation facilitates effective monitoring and tracking of data to prevent accidental leakage or infringement in the cloud. This ensures protection of user’s files while communication. Hence, bringing security to data through governance boosts user confidence to share files and collaborate freely.

To learn about OneDrive adoption in detail, please click here.