Information ServicesMicrosoft OneDrive for Business

OneDrive is Microsoft's online cloud storage service.

University staff, postgraduate researchers, taught postgraduates and undergraduates can access OneDrive for Business storage through their Office365 (Strathclyde email) account.

Features of OneDrive

OneDrive for Business is cloud-based file storage available to University students and staff through Microsoft 365. This cloud-based storage allows users to:

  • store up to 1TB of content online
  • upload files up to 250GB in size
  • sync files to their local device
  • use anywhere, on or off campus
  • use on multiple devices, including phones and tablets
  • create new or edit existing documents using Microsoft Office applications online
  • integrate seamlessly with other Microsoft 365 applications
  • share files with other University of Strathclyde staff and students
  • share files with external users. For example, research collaborators
  • see at-a-glance everything you've shared with people ("Shared By Me")
  • see at-a-glance everything that's been shared with you ("Shared With Me")
  • restore previous versions of files, or accidentally-deleted files
  • have files automatically scanned by Microsoft for viruses and other threats

Find out more

OneDrive for Business is the University's recommended system for staff and students to store their files. This means files that you are not planning to share with other people.

You can also share files with others. Be aware that if you leave the University, the data you have shared will be deleted, when your account is deleted. OneDrive for Business isn't always the best option for important or long-term shared data. Better options for long-term sharing include Microsoft Teams and Sharepoint. If you need more advice on the sharing options available, please talk to your local IT support.

If you need very high performance or capacity, Network Drives (H: and i:) may be a better option.

The University recommends OneDrive for Business over Strathcloud. Users of Strathcloud should transition individual data to OneDrive for Business. And shared data to Teams or Sharepoint.

To access OneDrive for Business in Microsoft 365 visit OneDrive on Office.com and log in with your University DS username and password.

The University's Training and Support pages have more information about using OneDrive for Business.

By default, students and staff all have 1TB of storage space. If you've already stored over 500GB, then you can contact Information Services to ask for an increase to 5TB. This request will be processed and granted by our IT staff.

If you have already stored 4.5TB, then you can contact the team to ask for a further increase. In this instance, we'll log the request with Microsoft. University IT staff cannot make increases beyond 5TB.

OneDrive for Business is not the same as the commercial OneDrive service you get with either a Microsoft account or Outlook.com. OneDrive for Business provides online storage intended for University of Strathclyde data.

In the header (or elsewhere) on the University's Microsoft 365 site, ‘OneDrive’ sometimes appears as an abbreviation of 'OneDrive for Business'. This is to keep things simpler.