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What Is SharePoint and How Is It Different From OneDrive?

OneDrive is your files. SharePoint is the company's files. When to use each.

OneDrive is personal cloud storage for an individual's work files. SharePoint is shared cloud storage for teams and departments, organized into sites and document libraries. They use the same underlying technology, which is why the line gets blurry, but the ownership model is what matters.

OneDrive

Every Microsoft 365 user gets a OneDrive. It is for drafts, personal working files and anything only that person needs. It syncs to their computer and follows them to any device. When the person leaves, their OneDrive is retained for a period and then removed, which is exactly why company records should not live there.

SharePoint

SharePoint holds files that belong to the business: department folders, project files, client records, policies. Each Team in Microsoft Teams sits on top of a SharePoint site, so "the Files tab in Teams" is SharePoint. Permissions are managed by site and library, and content survives staff turnover.

When to use which

  • OneDrive: your own drafts and working files; sharing a single file with one or two people briefly.
  • SharePoint: anything a second person will need, anything that must be kept, anything a department owns.

The mistakes that create a mess

  • Migrating the old file server folder-for-folder into one giant SharePoint site. Design sites by department and function instead.
  • Deeply nested folders. SharePoint works better with flatter structures and metadata.
  • Sharing links set to "anyone" by default.
  • Letting each Team create its own site with no naming or ownership rules.
  • Copying the old permission tangle instead of starting from least privilege.

Backup and retention

SharePoint and OneDrive keep deleted items for a limited time and are not a backup of themselves. See does Microsoft 365 back up your data.

Mentis Group handles SharePoint and cloud file migrations as IT Project Services and supports both platforms through Microsoft 365 support in Dallas. See what is cloud migration for how file migrations fit the larger sequence and what is Microsoft 365 for business for the platform overview.

Have a question about your own environment? Schedule a consultation with Mentis Group or call (866) 901-7808.