SharePoint is not a new tool… if you’re using Microsoft OneDrive,Teams, or Formsyou are already using SharePoint!It is the cloud storage platformbehind these Microsoft 365 tools.
Now, you can have a SharePoint site all on its own, to store and collaborate on files with colleagues both inside and external to ۲ݮƵ.
Benefits ofSharePoint Online
- Easy to share files and entire libraries with others (at ۲ݮƵ and outside the university)
- Flexibility to set different permission levels (view, edit, delete)
- Collaborate with colleagues online in real time using Microsoft 365 apps, such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
- Secure file storage, approved for useunder۲ݮƵ’s Cloud Directive
- Virtually unlimited space (over 25 TB) makes it perfect for large files (e.g., video, and high-resolution images)
- Like OneDrive, you can sync SharePoint libraries to your ۲ݮƵ computer for quick and easy access via your local file browser.
- Create engaging home pages for your SharePoint sites.
How SharePoint compares to other file storage options
- How is SharePoint different from OneDrive?
With OneDrive, each user has their own repository; if they leave ۲ݮƵ, their files are deleted unless they are saved by a supervisor.
By contrast, SharePoint is better suited to files that are truly shared among collaborators. SharePoint files belong to a group (unit, team, department), so there are multiple “owners”, and therefore the risk of being abandoned and deleted is lower.
- How is SharePoint different from Teams?
For every Teams group, there is a corresponding SharePoint site in the background. Files uploaded within a conversation, or into the Files tab of a Team site are also accessible directly from the web browser, using the SharePoint interface.
Now, you can request a SharePoint repository that is not connected to a Team, if you don’t need the additional chat/post features of Teams.
- How is SharePoint different from a shared departmental network drive?
With network drives, permissions are managed by IT Services and are less flexible;
SharePoint files can be shared with individuals in your unit, elsewhere at ۲ݮƵ and even outside the university.
Another advantage of SharePointis the ease of access to files from anywhere; you don’t need to have a VPN connection when working off-site, because the files are not stored on ۲ݮƵ servers. They just need to log in with a Microsoft account to verify their authorization.
- Are there any limitations to what can be stored on SharePoint?
SharePoint is not recommended for cases where the repository contains many (over 5000) small files. If you have a large number of files, you may need to break them into separate Libraries in SharePoint.
SharePoint would not be a suitable solution to store files that are used as input to oroutput from applications.
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