File storage options and uses

ITS provides several options for faculty and staff to save and share files both within and across departments. OneDrive, Teams, SharePoint, and even SUNY Cobleskill's website are all capable of being used for file sharing, but these options all need consideration as to if they'd be the best option for certain files.

Personal OneDrives should be used to store private files that should not be shared with anyone, as well as for backing up user files from SUNY Cobleskill computers. Shared OneDrives should be transitioned over to Teams Files.

Examples files:

• Initial drafts of documents
• Personnel files for an employee's private copy
• Files that need to be moved between computers
• Syncing of user folders between computers and the cloud

Files in Teams channels are for collaborative work between members of a team or department, allows for both discussion to take place naively where the files are hosted, and prevents files from being lost when people leave SUNY Cobleskill. Teams can span multiple departments when collaborating on larger matters.

Example files:

• Instructions for how to conduct team or department-specific operations
• Documents about projects or events
• Previous versions of published documents

SharePoint is SUNY Cobleskill's intranet and is where departments can publish documents for sharing with the rest of the SUNY Cobleskill community but shouldn't be made public.

Example files:

• Employee-only news and updates
• PDF forms for employees to fill (HR, Business, etc.)
• Administrative, academic, and other internal policies
• Meeting minutes

For documents that need to be shared with the public, they should be published on SUNY Cobleskill's main website cobleskill.edu. If you require assistance with publishing documents, please contact the Marketing Department using their Web Request Form.

Example files:

• Official campus policies
• Documents for potential or incoming students or employees
• Reports and other information that are required to be publicly available

Once the main way to sync files across computers for user profiles and department shares, mdrives are a legacy file hosting solution that is no longer recommended for usage by the entire campus community. The file server they rely on will be retired once the financial and management needs exceed the benefits provided and the time required to find alternative solutions.