Yesterday, Microsoft announced the upcoming new OneDrive and SharePoint features and capabilities. Here are some of the main announcements and what they mean for you:

For the Enterprise

• The file sharing and access control experience in Teams will now match those in other Microsoft 365 apps, including OneDrive, Outlook, or Office.
• There is an update to the OneDrive sync app to support read and write sync for shared libraries that contain required metadata. Previously, synced files were available for ‘read only’ access. This means people will now be able to edit documents from the desktop that have mandatory metadata in sync libraries.
• OneDrive users with access to shared files will be able to access those files even after they are moved to libraries to which the collaborators do not have access. In essence, collaborators will receive new links to the files that will provide them with continued access.
• The maximum file size that can be uploaded to SharePoint and OneDrive has been increased from 15GB to 100GB. This is particularly useful for videos, engineering plans, and other large enterprise file types.
• Users can now add sensitivity labels to content from Office Webs apps (OWA). Previously this was available in apps on Windows, Mac, and mobile. Additionally, OWA users will now be able to co-author documents and search for content in encrypted documents. Finally, encryption will be maintained after file download.
• New admin utilities are now available, including a OneDrive sync dashboard and a OneDrive migration tool. These tools give admins more control over how OneDrive gets used in the enterprise, and they enable admins to better gauge OneDrive health, while helping users overcome local OneDrive issues.

For Consumers

• Microsoft has added group sharing for consumers, so family units can now share content like photos and videos using OneDrive. Of course, all family members will need Microsoft accounts to participate. Additionally, there is a new activity feed view, so family members can see what others are doing.
• There is now a dark mode for OneDrive on the web, intended to reduce eye strain and save battery life.

What the announcements mean for you:

• Microsoft 365 is a comprehensive suite of collaboration and productivity products comprised of a collection of applications that existed prior to Microsoft 365. Because many of these apps predate the Microsoft 365 offering, it is not surprising that many holes exist between different apps. Microsoft continually identifies the most painful gaps and addresses them on an going basis. Today’s announcements are the latest in a continuous process to construct a fully integrated work productivity environment.
• As one of the few vendors to offer a comprehensive set of productivity tools for people at work AND at home, Microsoft continues to merge consumer and enterprise capabilities, where it makes sense. Content sharing is one such area; long used in the enterprise for collaborative work, families and friends are increasingly sharing content online with tools like OneDrive, to share photos and videos. Look for more of these features in the future, as the home and office user experiences continue to merge.