Department of Information Technology

Migrating from Shared Drives to SharePoint in January  

Microsoft Share point logoBeginning January 31, 2022, the Department of Information Technology will decommission all existing network shared drives and migrate the data to SharePoint. Similar to existing shared drives, SharePoint supports the collaboration and sharing of information within departments and throughout the university. Unlike shared drives, SharePoint can be easily accessed off campus, without the need for a WorkSpaces or AppStream account.

SharePoint can be used for file sharing, web content management and document management. It also provides the benefit of a central location for storing and collaborating on documents, which can significantly reduce emails and duplicated work. It is also capable of keeping track of the different versions of documents created by different users. 

Here are just a few ways to work with SharePoint:

  • Spread ownership and permissions across a wider collection of people. If a document is important to the success of a project, it’s a good idea for there to be people other than yourself who can control what happens on the site. Access control is managed by the department, rather than by IT.
  • Grant permissions on a site basis, instead of on individual documents. If people have access to the team site, then they have access to documents stored in the site.
  • Collaborate on files, create pages, use a shared notebook, and use the integrated Office 365 group to bring together conversations, calendars, and tasks. Shared drives did not allow for workflow or document management, nor did they have any metadata or version control.
  • Create attractive and effective site pages to organize information, post news, provide contact information, and provide navigation to documents, media, and other types of information.
  • SharePoint automatically protects sensitive information using Data Loss Prevention (DLP) technology. DLP identifies, monitors, and protects sensitive information such as financial data, credit card numbers, social security numbers or health records. 
  • The decommissioning of on-site shared drive infrastructure will further reduce cost while improving reliability and uptime performance.

In addition to the pre-migration consultation provided by the Department of Information Technology, training workshops will be available in January where employees can learn to manage a departmental site, upload and share documents, and assign permissions to those within the department.

Categories: Science and Technology

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