OneDrive vs Dropbox

File Storage in the Cloud

Community IT Innovators Webinar Series

February 19, 2015

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Steve Longenecker, Project Manager

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Patrick Sprehe, Network Manager

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OneDrive vs Dropbox

Bottom Left: Managing clouds opensource.com via Flickr CC BY-SA http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0

Bottom Right: http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/153763302_d0a21ebbbf.jpg by Aloriel http://www.flickr.com/people/aloriel/

Agenda

• Why the Cloud?

• File Storage 101

• Cloud Storage “Gap” Problem

• Dropbox and OneDrive

• Questions

Why the Cloud?

OpenClipArt -

https://openclipart.org/image/300px/svg_to_

png/169130/1332759102.png

More for Less

More:

• Features

• Stability

• Availability

• Accessibility

Less:

• Cost

• Maintenance

• Overhead

File Storage 101

Photo taken by Alanna Autler/ Medill News Service, https://www.flickr.com/photos/medilldc/5486265803/, Flickr Creative Commons

Local File Storage

Pros

• Fast

• Cheap

• Flexible

Cons

• No remote access

• Poor

manageability

• No collaboration

https://openclipart.org/detail/15348/u

sb-flash-drive-by-mystica

Network File Storage

Pros

• Fast

• Easy to use

• Some collaboration

• Centralized

management and

security

Cons

• Limited remote

access

• Not cheap

Cloud File Storage

Pros

• Accessibility

• Centralized

management and

security

• Business continuity

• Collaboration?

• Cost?

• Security?

• Scalability?

• Collaboration?

• Cost?

Cons

Mashup of http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ethernet_plug_grey.svg, original

image by Elembis, and Cloud from https://openclipart.org/detail/28302/cloud-by-

jean_victor_balin-28302, orginal image by jean_victor_balin

Cloud Storage “Gap” Problem

– Software is on your

computer

– Files are in the cloud

"SPICE TESTBED - DEPLOYED POSITION" by Hughhunt - Own work - see also Stilgoe J, Watson M, Kuo K (2013) Public Engagement with Biotechnologies Offers Lessons

for the Governance of Geoengineering Research and Beyond. PLoS Biol 11(11): e1001707. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001707. Licensed under CC BY 2.5 via Wikimedia

Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SPICE_TESTBED_-_DEPLOYED_POSITION.jpg#mediaviewer/File:SPICE_TESTBED_-_DEPLOYED_POSITION.jpg

Cloud Storage “Gap” Solutions

Approach #1 –

File Sync

Dropbox

Box

Google Drive

Microsoft OneDrive*

Cloud Storage “Gap” Solutions

Approach #2 –

Software in the cloud

Google Drive

Microsoft OneDrive

Box*

Cloud Storage “Gap” Solutions

Approach #3 –

Tight integration of software

with cloud services

Microsoft OneDrive

Box

Dropbox*

So Why Dropbox and OneDrive?

Dropbox

• Large consumer

user base

• Bulletproof sync

utility

• Good stand alone

solution

Microsoft OneDrive

• Large business user

base

• Tight integration

with Microsoft Office

and Office 365

Dropbox for Business

• File syncing app launched in 2008

• Similar experience to using local storage

• Files accessible from website

• Uses “Team Folders” and shared files/folders

for collaboration

• Where is Dropbox headed?

– Partnership with Microsoft

– CloudOn acquisition

https://www.dropbox.com/branding

Dropbox for Business

• Easy to use

• Very little change

management

• Does not require

constant Internet

• Poor scalability

– Can require a lot of local

storage

– Sync slows down with a

lot of data

• Poor collaboration

– Conflict copies

Dropbox for Business

• Technical specs

– Unlimited storage and file versioning

– File size limitations: None (app) or 10GB (website)

• Cost

– $15/mo. per user (min. of 5 users)

– 30% discount for nonprofits

• Security

– Very limited

– 2FA, SSO-friendly

• Mobile devices

– Available on most devices

– Integration with Microsoft Office mobile apps

OneDrive for Business

• Microsoft Office integration

• File syncing utility

• Files editable from website

• Companion to SharePoint

OneDrive for Business

• Technical specs

– Storage limit was 1TB, but now is unlimited.

– File size limit is 10GB

– Maximum number of files is 20,000

• Cost

– Part of Office 365 – E1 retails for $8.00/month

– Discount for nonprofits – E1 is $0/month for qualified 501(c)(3) organizations

• Security

– Passwords can sync with local domain

– Can enforce password expirations, etc.

– Microsoft advancing quickly in leveraging Azure to improve security

• Mobile devices

– Available on most devices

– Integration with Microsoft Office apps

So…

• Dropbox and OneDrive are good

examples of current approaches.

• Dropbox is good if Sync approach is

required and collaboration issues can

be managed outside the solution.

• OneDrive is compelling as part of a

larger commitment to Microsoft.

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Questions?

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Ability to lock documents?

OneDrive- yes, through the browser. OneDrive also allows simultaneously editing.

Dropbox- no.

Aren't these two moving towards a partnership?

Yes, but I view the Dropbox/Microsoft partnership as a consumer oriented partnership, not something that Microsoft expects will compete with its enterprise SaaS offerings.

Why is Dropbox so intuitive and OneDrive so awkward in its interface with SharePoint?

Dropbox keeps it simple and leverages familiarity with the Windows Explorer approach.

Questions?

Will SharePoint be mentioned as an option?

I like this MS KB: https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-sharepoint-online-enterprise-help/should-i-save-my-documents-to-onedrive-for-business-or-a-team-site-HA104105232.aspx

Interested in using as backup. Recently Dropbox failed to keep some files that were lost, because it was not set up properly.

Neither of these is really a “Backup solution.” There’s not enough logging and restore options are limited.

How do I stop Dropbox filling up my laptop storage?

You’ve identified a central problem with the “Sync” model. Get more laptop storage? Selective sync is an incomplete solution.

Questions?

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

Click on the gear near

the top right and

choose site settings

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

Under the subsequent

Site Administration

menu, I choose “Site

libraries and lists.”

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

On the next screen, I

click to customize

“Documents” (the

OneDrive library that I

want to modify)

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

Scrolling to the bottom

of the next screen (too

much on it to fit in one

screen shot), I can

create a new library

view.

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

I chose standard view.

SkyDrive lets me do things with spreadsheets that I can't do with OneDrive, like filter, unless I'm missing something?

I have been able to set up my OneDrive browser view to

include customizations.

Questions?

I can filter and/or sort

and/or just about

anything else you

might want to do...

I have large video and image files that I need to store in Cloud what would be the best method for handling this task?

Maybe Amazon S3? We still don’t think of typical cloud storage as appropriate for serious media people, though that’s probably changing even as we speak.

OneDrive has issues with not syncing well. I recently lost files as a result. Are there tricks to getting OD to work well?

We prefer to use the website directly for the SP/ODfB solution set. It’s a new, fairly powerful paradigm, but you give up the ease of the syncing approach.

How do these options live alongside network drives, since each person can't have the entire drive synced to their computer?

There’s likely still a place for network drives for archival and/or media storage. But if you’ve got a lot of data on your network share, you’re right, the “Sync” approach won’t scale to the degree you might want it to.

Questions?

From IT P.O.V. I’d rather see us using ODfB since we have O365. I want to understand what Dropbox does that matters to staff.

“Sync” approach is familiar and Dropbox keeps things very simple.Dropbox has better performance in the Sync approach than ODfB at present time.

OneDrive usage with SharePoint-- can documents be moved or copied from Team Sites to OneDrive and the other way around?

Yes, see the MS KB link referenced before about the differences between SP and ODfB, but short answer is you have to do it in Windows Explorer using synced files. Or you can use a third party management toolset like those provided by MetaViz.

Do you need to take connection speed into account when selecting the best option?

Yes, but the demands for the Sync version of both are similar. Sync approach is more forgiving of Intermittent cloud access.

Questions?

Security risks - tell us all about it

There are more similarities than differences:

• Cloud provider has direct control of your files (if you worry about secret subpoenas).

• Data is at least in an enterprise service (better than individually owned free versions of these solutions), but its still very easy to sync the data to any device, so preventing data leakage is harder than ever.

Can you compare adoption barriers?

As stated, the “sync” approach is going to be more familiar to the typical user and therefore have a lower adoption threshold.

Questions?