Source: Sharegate

SharePoint and OneDrive are often easily confused.

Both apps have a lot in common and although they have very similar features, they aren’t identical tools.

A Quick Comparison

OneDrive – A great Online Storage Solution for Individuals

OneDrive is essentially an online folder system for file storage that is integrated into the Office 365 platform.

It’s a great solution when you want to keep files private or if you simply want to store files in the cloud.

OneDrive offers both a personal and business version, but for the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on business use.

OneDrive offers file sharing, versioning and also offline access which is great for employees who regularly work out of the office in areas with poor or no internet service.

OneDrive Offline access

In OneDrive, you can access files when you are offline through what is known as an “offline sync engine”.

This gives you a way to see the files you’ve worked on, view any files shared with you, in addition to any files shared on your Team Sites.

Think of OneDrive as a storage area for files you aren’t ready to share with your team yet.

SharePoint – A great Online Storage & Collaboration Tool for Teams

SharePoint on the other hand, is a robust collaboration tool that includes many other features such as collaboration, CMS, and dashboards.

SharePoint is also part of the Office 365 platform where team members can work on the same document together in real time.

Microsoft offers a standalone off premise version of SharePoint or the popular version that’s built into the cloud and included in the Office 365 suite.

Why use SharePoint as a standalone solution?

Some IT administrators actually prefer on premise because the locally installed software allows for more control.

In this version, they have great control over the look and feel of the platform.

The drawback is that implementing SharePoint on company servers means that admins would need to purchase and manage updates and respond to security breaches.

Although all of its features are already built into SharePoint, OneDrive can optionally be purchased separately.

SharePoint vs OneDriveTo Put the Difference Simply…

As Sharegate stated, you can “Use your OneDrive for Business personal library for the “Me” part of your work, before it moves on to SharePoint Team Sites for the “We” part of the work.”

SharePoint is the gathering place for teams. Here, files aren’t associated with a single user. Instead they belong to the team itself.

SharePoint allows you to enrich content with metadata, create workflows, team-specific branding, sections, dashboards, task lists, and so on.

Permissions can be tailored based on who needs to see documents and the team manager/admin will be able to see everything.

Documents can even be created in OneDrive and then moved to a Team Site in SharePoint later on once it requires collaboration with your team.

Which is the Right Solution for your Business?

OneDrive is best suited for companies looking to implement a basic solution for storage and file-sharing capabilities.

Since it’s fully integrated with the Cloud through Office 365, you can sync files to any device offering easy access to files, anywhere, anytime.

For organizations looking for more of a company portal with project management capabilities and many more features, SharePoint would be the winner.

If you’re still not sure which solution would be right for you, contact Ontech Systems online or by phone at 262- 522-8560 and we would be glad to assist you.

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