OneDrive for Business

OneDrive for Business is a set of technology and licensing plans for hosted file storage and sharing and a client-side synchronization engine that works on multiple platforms to access these stored files. 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 has closed some of the most important gaps for Office 365 customers during 2015 and will continue to enhance the service in 2016.

This chapter describes the current state and roadmap of Microsoft’s OneDrive for Business Web file-sharing technology, which is distinct from the OneDrive technology offered to consumers. (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.