Email is a major part of how businesses communicate these days. Many of the emails that we deal with also come with attachments. The problem is that these attachments tend to fill up our mail servers very quickly. Another issue with sending attachments via email is that you are giving the other party a copy of that file, now and into the future. For most attachments that isn’t a problem but there maybe times when you wish you had greater control over the files that you are sharing.
Another issue when working with attachments amongst a large team is where is the most current version? This happens because there is not a single point of truth that all parties are working against. This can lead to errors and delays simply because not everybody is dealing with the most current information.
A better way to handle file sharing with external parties is to upload the files to a central location and then simply send a link to the other parties and allow them all to work on the one version. One of the best places to share files is OneDrive or OneDrive for Business.
OneDrive is the free consumer version of Microsoft’ cloud based web storage. There is no cost to create an account and you can share files quickly and easily. OneDrive for Business is part of SharePoint Online that comes with Office 365 and providers a greater level of security and manageability than the consumer version of OneDrive does.
To use use OneDrive for Business you’ll need a business Office 365 account but you’ll now get 1TB of file storage which will certainly allows for many large attachments. You simply need to upload your file to OneDrive and then select the option to share it and nominate the email address of those with whom you wish to share it. They in turn will receive an email with a link which will allow them access to the document.
The best thing is that you are in control of how long that attachment is available for others to work with. OneDrive also supports the ability of multiple people working on the file at the same time if you choose. Importantly, once the project has been completed you can remove access to that file for external parties.
if you have the need to share lots of files with lots of people outside your organization then you should be looking at a cloud based hosting service to provide better control and manageability of your files. Two options we’d recommend you consider are OneDrive and OneDrive for Business because of their tight integration with Microsoft technologies.
If you have any questions about how to work smarter with attachment please contact us for more information.