This document provides a quick overview of the commonly used solutions for storing and sharing documents at the iSchool. It is not an exhaustive guide to all storage technologies available at UW but serves as a staff reference for the various sharing and document storage options. Faculty and students may also find it somewhat useful.
Matrix of Storage & Sharing solution and features
| Restricted SharePoint | Users SharePoint | Project SharePoint | OneDrive | Google Drive | Email attachment | |
| Suitable for Sensitive Data[1] | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
| Allows External Sharing | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Anonymous access link | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Access Controls Managed by | iSchool IT | Owner | Owner | Owner | Owner | N/A |
| Intended for use by | Staff | Faculty, Staff | Faculty, Staff | Faculty, Staff, Students | Faculty, Staff, Students | Faculty, Staff, Students |
| Provisioned by | iSchool IT | iSchool IT | iSchool IT | self-service | self-service | N/A |
| Storage permanence when you depart UW | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
Restricted SharePoint Site
Our restricted SharePoint site is designed primarily for iSchool staff and serves as the ideal platform for most staff functions. It provides secure storage suitable for sensitive or private data as required by your job function. To ensure security, access controls are managed by the iSchool IT team. Access permissions are generally set at the document library level, to maintain consistency. Each document library functions as a team workspace, allowing documents to be moved within the library without concerns about who has access when documents are relocated between folders.
During staff onboarding, your supervisor or IT will be walk you through how to navigate and use the document libraries within our restricted SharePoint site.
One common issue our staff encounter is the need to share a document from our restricted SharePoint site with someone outside their team. Depending on the nature of the data in these documents, the simplest solution might be to send the document as an email attachment. If the person should be a member of the team associated with the document library, IT can adjust their access accordingly. In other cases, please consult with IT to explore whether one of the storage options described below might better suit your workflow and use case.
More Information: email ihelp@uw.edu
Users SharePoint Site
Our Users SharePoint sites are provisioned by iSchool IT but are managed by the individual to whom the site is assigned. Unlike our restricted SharePoint site, Users SharePoint sites allow for broader collaboration, including sharing with external partners who do not have a UW NetID. Please note that these sites are not intended for storing sensitive information.1
More Information: email ihelp@uw.edu
Project SharePoint Site
Our project SharePoint sites are similar to our Users sites. They are provisioned by iSchool IT but are managed by the individual to whom the site is assigned. These sites allow for broader collaboration, including sharing with external partners who do not have a UW NetID. Further the Project sites allow for sharing using Anonymous Links where content owners can share links which grant access to anyone with the link. Again like the Users sites, these sites are not intended for storing sensitive information.1
More Information: email ihelp@uw.edu
OneDrive for Business
OneDrive for Business is ideal for personal data storage and ad hoc collaborations within the UW community. It is easy to use and best suited for working on daily documents or sharing files with other UW members. OneDrive is available as part of your provisioned Microsoft 365 account. Please note that OneDrive is restricted to users with a UW NetID and is not intended for storing sensitive information1. Additionally, when you are no longer associated with UW, your OneDrive account and all its contents will be deleted.
More Information: https://itconnect.uw.edu/tools-services-support/software-computers/productivity-platforms/microsoft-productivity-platform/onedrive-for-business/
Google Drive
Google Drive offers flexible collaboration options, allowing you to share documents with both UW members and external collaborators. Like Project SharePoint, Google Drive is not intended for storing sensitive data1. While it is a convenient tool for broad access and real-time collaboration, keep in mind that your Google Drive account and all its contents will be deleted when you leave UW.
More information: https://itconnect.uw.edu/tools-services-support/software-computers/productivity-platforms/google-productivity-platform/google-drive/
Sharing as an Email Attachment
While not a storage technology, sending a copy of a file as an email attachment remains a useful sharing solution. This method does not require recipients to have an account or special access permissions. However, it does not support real-time collaboration as the above technologies do.