Maximizing Your Cloud Storage: Best Practices for Collaboration & Cost Control with OneDrive & SharePoint

Organizations are continually in search of ways to not only collaborate effectively but also to increase their cost-efficiency. This is particularly true when considering cloud storage. Microsoft offers two tools to achieve this: OneDrive and SharePoint. When effectively deployed and scaled, these are excellent tools to help businesses continue to grow. Either one can be seamlessly integrated into your business environment. 

Strategic governance and configurations can help deploy your solution today. They can help your business deploy, govern, and scale OneDrive and SharePoint effectively.

OneDrive & SharePoint Usage

While both operate in the Microsoft 365 framework, they serve two different functions: 

• OneDrive is a storage application that allows one-to-one sharing and staging.
• SharePoint provides a platform for collaboration between team members. 

Optimizing Storage

It is essential for organizations to have a clear understanding of the amount of data they store, and the cost associated with it. This requires auditing and real-time monitoring over data usage and growth. One way to do this is by developing data policies, including what information will be stored and used in which applications. 

Define Storage Policies

Establishing data storage policies will help maximize storage frameworks. This includes determining what content should be stored in OneDrive and which should be stored in SharePoint.

• Store personal files in OneDrive.
• Reserve shared, project-oriented, or archived documents for SharePoint.

Defining data in this way allows a separation of content boundaries.

Automate Lifecycle Management

Organizations can struggle with retention policies. Microsoft Purview can help. Purview allows retention labels to be assigned to files and directories, triggering system functions. Policies can trigger deletion or archival beyond traditional thresholds. This helps to control storage in a managed way.

Naming Conventions

Adopt uniform naming standards across documents to facilitate searchability and reduce confusion. In SharePoint:

• Use custom content types and metadata columns for document classification.
• Enable filtered views based on metadata (e.g., project, client, status).
• Integrate metadata into Power Automate workflows for approvals, notifications, and routing.

Collaboration With Cloud Tools

Real-time collaboration is invaluable in today’s fast-paced digital environments. OneDrive and SharePoint offer this in a seamless model. In order to maximize these benefits, organizations need to store their documents in the cloud. This allows users to simultaneously edit and create files. This fosters seamless workflows.

Developing Sharing Practices

To maintain compliance and control, organizations need to develop sharing policies. Sharing should be limited to authorized users rather than to “anyone with the link.” To ensure compliance, audits are necessary. 

Microsoft Teams is the collaboration hub for accessing and managing OneDrive and SharePoint files. Frequently accessed documents can be pinned as tabs for quick retrieval. Staff need to be trained on how to properly manage files within the SharePoint platform. 

Controlling Costs

The bottom line remains as a significant business mantra. One way to control storage usage and costs is by installing quotas and analytics. This provides invaluable insight into data usage growth and associated cost expectations. It can also provide a detailed outlook on which users are creating the most content.

User behavior is key to cost control. It is important to educate them to help minimize their storage footprint. 

• Show them how to avoid duplicate files.
• Provide guidance on managing version history.
• Enable alerts via Power Automate or Viva Insights to remind users about proper storage techniques.

Strengthening Security in Cloud Collaboration

Maintaining compliance and security is a critical feature of OneDrive and SharePoint. Data Loss Prevention (DLP) policies can easily protect and secure your organization’s data.

Sensitivity Labels can enforce organizational policies and ensure compliance. When documents have a label applied, it allows automatic user control for sharing. This still applies even when users leave the environment. When combined with MFA, the risk of data breaches can be greatly minimized.

Microsoft Defender for Cloud Apps can provide real-time monitoring. This allows the system to recognize any suspicious user activity. It also tracks document downloads and access patterns to better recognize suspicious patterns.

Extended Functionality

One way to increase functionality is by using third-party tools. SharePoint and OneDrive offer this ability. This can enhance collaboration.

• DocuSign can be integrated for secure digital signatures.
• Adobe Acrobat offers advanced PDF editing.
• Backup and eDiscovery add a layer of resiliency.

Strategic Growth

When organizations adopt structured governance initiatives, they can tap the full potential of OneDrive and SharePoint. Both improve collaboration and streamline workflows. This provides a complete picture of storage needs and associated costs. Central to this development is defining the organizational storage architecture.

A Microsoft 365 environment can offer your organization a secure and scalable storage solution. This can be done while containing costs. If you’re ready to maximize your cloud storage strategy, reach out to Unbound Digital. We can help improve your organization’s level of collaboration with OneDrive and SharePoint optimization.