Getting Started with files in OneDrive and Teams/SharePoint
OneDrive and SharePoint are the Microsoft 365 cloud technologies that keep your files secure, backed up, and allows you to access them from multiple devices, and collaborate with colleagues, as well as people outside the company.
OneDrive
OneDrive is your personal cloud space. Nobody else has access to your files in OneDrive, and your Documents, Desktop and Pictures folders are automatically synced to OneDrive, making them available on other computers, your phone and tablet. They’re backed up, and can be easily recovered if your computer fails or if your laptop is lost.
You can share files with other people from OneDrive, but you should consider whether it’s better to save those files in a SharePoint Site where your colleagues can more easily access them.
Your OneDrive appears in the left-hand pane of File Explorer in a special folder with the blue OneDrive icon, labelled with your name and the name of the company.
Teams/SharePoint
For the purposes of file storage, Teams and SharePoint are interchangeable as they each point to the same location.
Teams and SharePoint are collaboration tools used to manage and share files and information across the company. They allow multiple colleagues to collaborate in one central location, editing documents together at the same time.
Use Teams/SharePoint when you need to create a document that will be written and managed by a team of people or when it needs to be shared broadly.
You can access files in the Teams client installed on your computer, and from File Explorer in a special folder with an ‘office block’ icon.
