You might be wondering what the difference is between Microsoft OneDrive vs SharePoint. Both offer cloud storage and file sharing, but which one is right for you? How do you know which to use and when to use them? Let’s find out together.
What Is OneDrive?
OneDrive (formerly known as SkyDrive) is the Microsoft cloud service that connects you to all your files. It lets you store and protect your files, share them with others, and get to them from anywhere on all your devices. Think of it as a hard drive in the cloud, which you can share, with a few extra benefits thrown in.
OneDrive is the successor to SharePoint. In fact, it contains all of the original SharePoint document offerings. So if you’re familiar with SharePoint, you’ll feel right at home with OneDrive.
What Is SharePoint?
SharePoint is a highly adaptable cloud-based platform for information management and communication that enables your team to operate remotely, collaboratively, and more effectively. SharePoint is a content management platform that promotes team collaboration across teams wherever they are in the world and is used by over 200,000 businesses.
It is a cloud-based file-sharing platform that is part of the Microsoft 365 system, with tons of easy-to-use features. It enables users to create and save electronic files, making it perfect for businesses that need to share files and collaborate on projects.
OneDrive vs SharePoint: Differences
When it comes to cloud storage, file sharing, and collaboration, there are some key differences between Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft SharePoint.
- Storage Type
OneDrive is designed for personal use, while SharePoint is better for business collaborations. OneDrive is a great choice if you need to store and share photos, videos, or documents with people outside of your company. It is more of a personal storage service. All you need is a Microsoft account to get started.
SharePoint on the other hand, is a more robust product that allows you to store files meant for your team, meaning that all team members have access to this single storage space. This enables them to work on files together in a collaborative manner
This is a simple mnemonic to recall the difference. Consider OneDrive’s “One” as storage for a single user (you). Similar to this, SharePoint’s “Share” feature is a shared storage where you save items that are suited for collaborative work. Simple, right?
- Content Management
OneDrive operates under the centralized ownership principle. This indicates that OneDrive offers a virtual folder option that saves files and restricts access to view, share, and edit functions only to the owner. This basically means that only the file’s owner can update the contents, share it, and allow access to other viewers. Because information is protected and privacy is ensured, this makes the platform ideal for personal usage.
As opposed to this, everyone who has access to the material on SharePoint, not just the content author, can change and share it.
Rules and guidelines governing data ownership have previously been defined for each file published to SharePoint. Any SharePoint site’s developer can create a SharePoint group and invite however many users they want to see and change the uploaded data.
As a result, SharePoint is favored over OneDrive for team projects since everyone may work on a document simultaneously rather than having just one person have control over the content.
OneDrive vs SharePoint: Still confused on which to use? Keep reading.
- Storage Space
Both SharePoint and OneDrive are cloud-based, which means you can access them from anywhere in the world. But in terms of storage space 1TB of storage is available on OneDrive for each user. One user could create simple documents with this much capacity, but a group project requiring many files or substantial amounts of data would require more than 1TB.
OneDrive gives you access to more storage if you pay for it, but the most storage you can buy is only 6TB, which is still insufficient for extensive team projects.
In contrast, SharePoint is a good choice because it allows multiple users to access the same document, allowing an entire team to work on it. Additionally, the platform lets you purchase up to 15TB of storage, which is more than enough to support extensive team projects.
- Collaboration with Other Microsoft Products
Users of SharePoint can quickly sync data with Microsoft 365-related applications like Yammer and Microsoft Teams. In comparison to OneDrive, this improves the platform’s collaborative capabilities and equips it to host large-scale team events.
OneDrive syncs with SharePoint smoothly but does not collaborate as well with other Microsoft 365 tools. The performance of the two platforms can be used simultaneously because SharePoint and OneDrive are compatible with one another.
When to Use Which Tool
So, how do you know when to use OneDrive and when to use SharePoint?
When it comes to individual project or personal files, OneDrive is the best but when it comes down to team projects and collaborative file sharing, you should definitely go for SharePoint.
For more question on this, speak to a cloud storage expert at Bytes Ahead Limited.
Conclusion: OneDrive vs SharePoint
Microsoft OneDrive and Microsoft SharePoint are both great cloud storage and file sharing options, but they do have some key differences.
OneDrive is great for personal file storage and sharing, while SharePoint is perfect for business use cases. OneDrive is easier to use and cheaper than SharePoint, but it has less features.
If you’re looking for a cloud storage and file sharing option that’s perfect for business use cases, then SharePoint is the better choice. If you’re looking for a solution that’s easy to use and great for personal file storage and sharing, then OneDrive is the better option.
Here’s a breakdown of the key differences between these two services:
OneDrive is best for personal use, while SharePoint is better for business use. While SharePoint lets you create collaborative workspaces for teams, OneDrive is for individual file storage and sharing. OneDrive offers a limited amount of storage space, while SharePoint offers unlimited storage space. OneDrive is great for simple file sharing, while SharePoint provides more features and options for collaboration.
