OneDrive for Business

[Nov. 16, 2015 note: A more recent version of this report can be found at www.directionsonmicrosoft.com/research/secured/2015/11/onedrive-business.]

OneDrive for Business should improve synchronization, compliance, and more in 2015, but only for Office 365 customers. OneDrive for Business is a set of technology and licensing plans for hosted file storage, sharing, and synchronization. OneDrive for Business promises better collaboration and simpler connectivity than Windows file shares and better organizational control and monitoring than consumer file-sharing services. It is currently not as reliable or capable as Microsoft’s own consumer OneDrive service and other consumer or commercial competitors, but the company hopes to close the most important gaps for Office 365 customers in 2015. (See the sidebar “Consumer OneDrive“.)

What Is OneDrive for Business?

OneDrive for Business technology enables mobile and roaming users to store files in document libraries and access and search them securely over the Internet, without a virtual private network (VPN) connection. Users can also share files selectively with other users and maintain copies of files for offline use on multiple devices. The OneDrive for Business technology consists of client software, server software, and Microsoft-hosted services. Servers and services store files in document libraries, the Web-based file-sharing and document management component originally developed for SharePoint Server. The technology focuses on user document libraries (which are now called OneDrive for Business libraries) but can work with other kinds of document libraries, such as the shared libraries in SharePoint Team Sites and in the new Groups collaboration spaces of Office 365. OneDrive for Business works across multiple client platforms and applications, including the Office and Office Online applications. The exact capabilities depend on both the type of document library and the client. (See the illustration “OneDrive for Business Overview“.)