OneDrive for Business Roadmap Update

OneDrive for Business will 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 Web sites offering 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.

This report summarizes the capabilities and roadmap of the Microsoft-hosted OneDrive for Business file-sharing technology licensed with OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, and Office 365 business plans. The consumer OneDrive service is a separate technology that currently has a few technical advantages but is not suitable for most business use. (See the sidebar “Consumer OneDrive“.)