Comparison of SharePoint vs OneDrive: What You Need to Know

Summary

• While SharePoint is ideal for managing large-scale collaborative projects, OneDrive is better suited to individual projects. SharePoint’s capabilities, such as website-building and the addition of dashboards and notifications, make it an ideal platform for teamwork. While OneDrive can be used to store data, it more closely resembles a library of documents because of its lack of collaboration features.
• With the recent pandemic, we are witnessing a huge surge in trends of remote labor mainly because of technological advancements. Now more and more firms are moving their operations online. How do modern virtual firm owners and managers ensure that their operations are being run smoothly amid a surge in remote workers?

 

Software That Facilitates the Exchange & Sharing of Media Files Is the Answer

File-sharing software is a type of technology that enables the exchange of digital data between several users or across an entire business. Basically, it is an online system that facilitates the sharing of information and the exchange of files between employees in the same firm. Cloud-based file-sharing systems allow employees to access company data from any computer, anywhere in the world. Microsoft has developed some of the most popular and effective file-sharing programs. SharePoint and OneDrive are two cloud-based applications that are good examples of this. Which of these two file-sharing sites is preferable for your firm depends on your specific demands.

Understanding which program would be more useful for assisting your business operations requires comparing SharePoint and OneDrive. While the two tools share certain similarities, they serve very different purposes. Learning the fundamental distinctions between SharePoint and OneDrive might help you decide which product is best for your company.

What Is SharePoint?

The Microsoft 365 suite includes the cloud-based SharePoint file-sharing technology. Users can generate and save electronic files, as well as sync them across different devices, with the help of the software.

SharePoint serves as an organization-wide repository for files and information. In addition to providing a secure environment for information sharing in real time, this method also ensures the privacy of any data exchanged.

Additionally, the app includes a SharePoint library that serves as the primary database, a dedicated customer data storage area, and a user profile file. Moreover, SharePoint features a centralized permission management system, so that all team members can view the contents of any given file. The entire team can now make changes to the document at the same time.

The app’s adaptability in the workplace is due in part to the platform’s support for syncing data with various other apps. SharePoint also includes configuration options that allow only those with valid credentials to view sensitive data.

What is OneDrive?

Within Microsoft Office 365, there is a cloud file-sharing platform called OneDrive. To save information in one place and share it with other devices, the app serves as a hub. By giving multiple users permission to view shared folders, OneDrive facilitates productive collaboration while protecting data integrity.

The files you generate in OneDrive belong to you alone. Thus, only the original author has unrestricted access to the file and can make any necessary changes or distribute it. In cases where multiple people need access to the same file, the owner can decide who joins the shared viewing group.

This makes using OneDrive at work an excellent alternative for storing and working on individual files before sharing them with the team. Instead of bringing in a flash drive or using your computer’s hard drive, you can use OneDrive and then upload the files to SharePoint for teamwork.

Both the standard OneDrive and the more professional OneDrive for Business are available. Individuals can use OneDrive for storing their files, while businesses can use OneDrive for Business to keep their files for synchronized business operations. The program can run on computers running Windows, Mac OS X, iOS, and Android. The ability to sync with many platforms and facilitate data exchange makes it a valuable resource for both personal and professional use.

When Comparing SharePoint to OneDrive, What Are The Key Distinctions?

Microsoft’s SharePoint and OneDrive are both online file-sharing services. To that end, both applications prioritize the secure maintenance and transfer of digital information to streamline business operations and facilitate the transition to remote work.

Despite their similarities, though, these two platforms are distinct, and recognizing those distinctions is essential to making the most of each. Understanding the features of each file-sharing platform, like SharePoint, OneDrive, and Teams will help you make an informed choice. SharePoint’s collaboration features make it an excellent choice for team data storage and management of group projects.

OneDrive is more of a personal document archive, like a library than a collaborative workspace. MS Teams is the hub of collaborative work and thrive when allowed to tackle challenging activities. But SharePoint and OneDrive are the main points of this discussion. To understand that SharePoint and OneDrive are not equivalents of one another, it is necessary to first appreciate their unique features and capabilities.

To help you select an app that optimally serves your company’s objectives, we have created a list of primary differences between the two platforms.

1. SharePoint And OneDrive Have Different Marketing Approaches

Both are file-sharing tools with identical goals, but they are marketed in quite different ways.

SharePoint is advertised as a data storage, management, and file sharing, and collaborative tool.

There is also the possibility of expanding the system’s functionality through updates and tweaks. Conversely, OneDrive is a component of Microsoft’s online office suite, Office 365.

Given that SharePoint is positioned as Microsoft’s first file-sharing platform and facilitates the development of both web portals and the storage and distribution of data, it is not surprising that its primary market is the administration of business processes.

Instead of focusing on the creation of individual files and web portals, Microsoft Office’s OneDrive places a greater emphasis on storing and sharing information. In addition, there are both commercial and non-commercial variants of OneDrive available. That means it’s not just aimed at businesses like SharePoint, but also at people who might utilize the program.

2. Differences Between SharePoint and OneDrive for Data Ownership and Access Control

The centralization of ownership is essential to the functioning of OneDrive. This implies that you may use OneDrive to create private virtual folders. With OneDrive only you can have access to the stored files and can view, share, and make changes to them. This effectively means that the file’s creator is the only one who can make changes to the data or share it with others and grant them access to the file. With your data safe and your privacy assured, this platform is ideal for your own personal usage.

In contrast, SharePoint allows all authorized users to make changes and publish the same piece of content, rather than only the original author. Any information stored in SharePoint must adhere to predetermined guidelines about data ownership. Any SharePoint site’s author can create a SharePoint group and invite as many people to that group as they’d like to have access to the site and make changes to the uploaded files.

Since multiple people on the team can make changes to a document at once rather than just one person, SharePoint is a better choice than OneDrive for collaborative projects.

3. SharePoint vs. OneDrive: Which Is Better for Collaboration?

SharePoint and OneDrive are comparable collaboration tools because of their ability to sync with any device and share files between them. Still, their capacities for working together vary. Only the user who initially submitted the file to OneDrive will have the ability to make changes to it.

Moreover, OneDrive documents with embedded hyperlinks often fail to function properly. Because the connection no longer works after the original document has been copied and then erased, this is the case. As a result, it’s important to make sure every member of the team has access to the original document. So that, the connection will always work.

Another way in which OneDrive falls short for group projects is that it deletes old files after 30 days if a user’s account remains inactive while they’re still working on anything. Given that the OneDrive account owner has complete control over the contents of the account, it can be difficult to access a team member’s files.

Whereas SharePoint doesn’t support it, OneDrive lets its users leave comments and feedback on documents created in the app. OneDrive also allows file scanning from mobile devices, which is a functionality SharePoint lacks.

Because SharePoint permits authorization across a whole team, it is a superior method of collaboration. Even though it is a copy, the document can be saved, updated, and shared with ease. SharePoint is a more effective method of collaboration since it allows for the creation of online areas where entire offices may work remotely and track projects using calendars, status updates, and approaching deadline reminders.

SharePoint is utilized as a team for enterprise project management. On the other hand, OneDrive is just seen as a tool for sharing information privately. SharePoint’s dashboards, notifications, deadlines, and trackers set it apart from OneDrive.

Read also → Benefits of Using Microsoft SharePoint Application Development

4. SharePoint & OneDrive: Which One Offers Better Data Storage?

Both SharePoint and OneDrive use a cloud-based server infrastructure. OneDrive is great for private use and storing basic files. It secures data, guarantees that only the creator can view papers, and enables data synchronization across many gadgets.

However, OneDrive is an inefficient and just impractical solution for collaborative work. Especially for projects involving a big number of individuals. This is due to the fact that it is hard to share data with other people, only one person can make changes, and the software has limited storage space.

Every user of OneDrive has access to 1 terabyte of storage space. One individual making simple papers could get by with 1TB. But a team working on a project that requires many files or a lot of data would quickly run out of capacity. For a fee, you can gain access to extra space on OneDrive. However, the maximum amount of space that can be purchased is only up to 6TB. Nevertheless, this space is still insufficient for massive group projects.

SharePoint, on the other hand, is preferable. However. it allows several users to access documents at once, allowing a full team to collaborate on a single file. Because you can buy as much storage as you need (up to 15 terabytes). This makes it suitable even for the longest team projects. However, unlike OneDrive, SharePoint allows for on-premise storage, and you can store the files at the local server as well as upload them to the cloud.

5. SharePoint vs. OneDrive: Which Is More Expensive?

Two different online subscription levels make SharePoint’s pricing structure very accessible. Pricing for Plan 1 of our online service begins at $5 USD per month, per user. Plan 2’s monthly fee of 10 USD covers an organization’s worth of users online. SharePoint also provides Office 365 E3, which costs $20 per user each month.

OneDrive’s basic plan is free and includes 5 GB of storage space. There are two different OneDrive business plans available, with Plan 1 costing $5 USD per month per user and Plan 2 costing $10 USD per month per user.

6. SharePoint vs. OneDrive: Which Is Better for Websites, Apps, & CMS (Content Management System)?

SharePoint is a platform for businesses to build websites, share files, and manage collaboration tools. The platform’s content management system (CMS) feature paves the way for businesses to build their own websites and publish and distribute their own papers online.

In addition, you can use the SharePoint interface to make sites like FAQ portals, staff portals, and review forms for customers. Also, you can import data from these sites straight into SharePoint. And also store data for future reference. Furthermore, you can use SharePoint’s analytics engine for insightful managerial decision-making.

In contrast to other cloud storage options, OneDrive does not allow you to create and host your own websites. Unlike shared email addresses, documents cannot be uploaded directly to any website. For online document sharing, you’ll need to set up Microsoft 365 or another content management system.

7. Comparison of SharePoint vs OneDrive’s Security Options

SharePoint and OneDrive dedicatedly serve the purpose of keeping information secured. To provide maximum security, both systems encrypt data in real-time. In case a file is deleted or lost, the apps keep a record of its earlier versions so that any relevant data can be restored.

Since in most cases, an entire team can read and change a file. SharePoint also focuses on enhancing control over who has access to documents.

The platform contains robust safety features that significantly lessen the possibility of malware attacks. In addition, it has built-in file segmentation to stop viruses from spreading throughout the entire database if they manage to compromise a single file. OneDrive’s security is laxer than SharePoint’s because only the file’s creator has access to it.

8. Comparing SharePoint vs OneDrive In Terms of Integration with Other Microsoft 365 Apps

SharePoint allows for seamless data synchronization with Microsoft 365 apps like Yammer and Microsoft Teams. As a result, the platform becomes more conducive to large-scale team events. It has a higher potential for collaboration than OneDrive.

However, OneDrive syncs nicely with SharePoint and with the rest of Microsoft 365’s apps. Due to their interoperability, you can use SharePoint and OneDrive to blend with each other to enhance one another’s functionality.

9. Confidentiality & Security of Data Stored

OneDrive outperforms SharePoint in protecting user privacy while sharing files. Due to SharePoint’s emphasis on teamwork, utilizing it for private document work can be riskier than using a service like OneDrive. Because of SharePoint’s default settings, which discourage data sharing, multiple people may have access to files containing sensitive information.

When compared to Dropbox, OneDrive does not facilitate teamwork in any way by default. The document is owned exclusively by its author, who also has full editing privileges. In light of this, when creating content on a small or personal basis, OneDrive is the preferable choice.

10. Comparing SharePoint with OneDrive for Data & Document Management

When it comes to managing your data, OneDrive is on par with SharePoint in terms of features (such as templates, auditing, and versions). However, it doesn’t allow you to set up your own website or portal.

Since OneDrive lacks a built-in content management system (CMS). The process of web publishing is more complicated and indirect than it is with SharePoint. SharePoint’s compatibility with the rest of Microsoft 365 makes it simpler to share files online for publication than OneDrive.

As an added branding and document transit bonus, SharePoint also provides white-label functionality. However, OneDrive excels as a secure personal cloud storage solution since it lacks these characteristics.

Conclusion

If you manage a business of any kind, you can benefit greatly from adopting a file-sharing system. SharePoint and OneDrive are two excellent choices for online file storage and sharing. Both tools use cloud infrastructure from Microsoft, and while they have some similarities, the two are not carbon copies of one another.

SharePoint is the best option for managing comprehensive, team-based projects, while OneDrive is ideal for more intimate, individual endeavors. The platform(s) you decide to implement into your company’s operations will depend on the kind and size of your firm, as well as your top priorities.

Having reviewed the main distinctions between SharePoint and OneDrive, we trust that you now feel more prepared to select the platform that best meets your company’s requirements.