Gettysburg College Departmental and Personal File Storage Guidelines

Departmental and Personal File Storage Guidelines

Introduction

With the adoption of Microsoft Office 365 cloud based services, you as a Gettysburg College employee have several options for storing your work files. With each option, there are pros and cons depending upon your goals and requirements.

Considerations

  • Document Content: Do the files contain any FERPA protected data or business sensitive information? If so, files should be stored on Gettysburg College departmental network storage (S: )
  • Size: What is the estimated size of the collection of files you will be storing?
  • Duration: How long do you want the files to be accessible? Do you want the files to be accessible even if you leave the College?
  • Accessibility: Who else requires access to the files? For how long does another individual need access? Is the other person requiring access a Gettysburg College employee?
  • Backup: Do the files need to be backed-up? If so, by whom? If so, how often? If so, for how long?

Storage Options

  • Direct computer storage on hard drive or externally attached storage (USB Stick)
    • Pros:
      • Accessible without internet connection
      • Storage limited by the size of the physical disk storage
      • External (USB) storage devices easier to transport
      • Faster editing of large files with local computer hard drive
    • Cons:
      • More difficult to share and collaborate
      • No automated backup
      • Local computer hard drive files erased when employee leaves
      • External (USB) storage has an increased probability of failure or loss
      • Physical storage of device harder and left to user
  • Gettysburg College departmental and personal network storage (H: and S: )
    • Pros:
      • Controlled access secured by Gettysburg College IT
      • Previous versions available and automated backups by Gettysburg College IT
      • Files in departmental drive shareable with other College employees within department
      • Files in personal drive shareable with others in College
      • Departmental files created by user stay after user leaves the College
    • Cons:
      • Only accessible on campus or externally with VPN by Gettysburg College account holders
      • When sharing, only 1 user can edit the document at a time
      • Default storage is limited to 1 GB
      • Slower editing of larger files especially non-M365 file types
      • Personal network storage is erased when user leaves the College
      • Must request access from IT to add people to personal and departmental folders
  • Gettysburg College OneDrive storage
    • Pros:
      • Secure access by MFA as long as individual is enrolled in DUO
      • Previous versions available
      • Auto-saving of changes
      • Accessible from anywhere with internet access
      • Sharable with anyone and multiple users can edit at same time
      • 1 TB storage available
      • Mobile App available for access on devices other than computers
    • Cons:
      • Not backed up by Gettysburg College (Microsoft offers no guarantees)
      • Can easily be shared improperly and made publicly accessible
      • Files deleted after account termination (if user leaves the college)
      • Slower editing of larger files for non-M365 file types
      • M365 applications different from desktop versions
      • Multiple M365 accounts can be confusing
  • Gettysburg College Microsoft Teams storage
    • Pros:
      • Secure access by MFA as long as all members of Team are enrolled in DUO
      • Previous versions available
      • Auto-saving of changes
      • Accessible from anywhere with internet access
      • Sharable with anyone and multiple users can edit at same time
      • 1 TB storage available
      • Mobile App available for access on devices other than computers
      • Setup of Team done by individual
      • Default sharing to only team members
      • Ownership can be transferred if owner leaves College and account removed
      • Includes meeting tools (video conferencing, chat) that provide convenient ways to comment and collaborate on shared documents
      • Easy to determine correct account/team
    • Cons:
      • Not backed up by Gettysburg College (Microsoft offers no guarantees)
      • Can easily be shared improperly and made publicly accessible
      • Slower editing of larger files for non-M365 file types
      • M365 applications different from desktop versions
      • Multiple M365 accounts can be confusing
      • Learning curve higher due to flexibility and feature set
      • Team security only as good as the weakest security practices of an individual

Video Files:

Video files are considerably larger than text, image, and audio files. They require more storage space and special technology to stream over the internet smoothly. If you have a large number of video files that you need to share with others, you may want to consider hosting them on the College’s streaming video server (Panopto Video, see below) for a better playback experience.

  • Panopto Video
    • Pros:
      • Optimizes video for streaming, eliminating the need to download large video files before playing
      • No storage limits
      • Provides comment section for video
      • Easily sharable with people inside and outside of the College
    • Cons:
      • Videos in personal accounts that have not been played for three years are automatically deleted. Items in department folders can be set to remain on the system indefinitely.
      • Learning curve higher due to flexibility and feature set
Note: Microsoft Office 365 may not provide software applications for all the file types stored on OneDrive and Teams.