Central File Share For Office 365

[devham]

I have a customer that is looking to move to a "cloud office". They really like Office 365 and have been using it for their email and so far love it.

The issue I have is that they want to use all "web based versions" of Office so that they can access their data from any computer as the users travel quite a bit and change offices frequently.

Right now the issue that I have is the same with Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive. They all store files to the user's "drive" not to a central file share like it would if there was an on premise file server.

The other option I have played around in my head is creating a hosted Remote Desktop Services server and subscribing them to a version of Office 365 that supports installation on the RDS server. It may be a way of a stepping stone to the "cloud".

Has anyone setup anything like this for a company before? If so what did you do for their file storage?

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Office 365 has Sharepoint. Check it out...it syncs to clients via the OneDrive mechanism. However, it's designed to be the central repository for the company....like the common "S" shared drive on a server. All users can have access to it. Team Sites.

Also..ensure you have the updated version of OneDrive for Biz client...recently changed to a darker blue icon. (I have 17.3.6720.1207 right now...I think I'm just 1x update behind)

Or, check out DattoDrive.

 

[devham]

Office 365 has Sharepoint. Check it out...it syncs to clients via the OneDrive mechanism. However, it's designed to be the central repository for the company....like the common "S" shared drive on a server. All users can have access to it. Team Sites.

Also..ensure you have the updated version of OneDrive for Biz client...recently changed to a darker blue icon. (I have 17.3.6720.1207 right now...I think I'm just 1x update behind)

Or, check out DattoDrive.

I was just in the process of checking out DattoDrive. It is a great value for the price. I know I can setup OwnCloud/NextCloud but the price totally makes DattoDrive worth it.

I hate to ask, do you have any good resources for setting up Sharpoint? I tried a year or so ago for our at our company but was pretty overwhelmed by how it all worked, especially with the hosted/Office 365 version.

 

[trevm999]

For future reference, Google Drive for teams is coming out soon. Personally I think Google Apps is the better solution for companies going ALL web based for email/office. But Google Drive for Teams is much needed.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I don't have material off the top of my head for guides for Sharepoint.....I can't remember the ones I used a few years ago when I started fiddling with our own. Guess most of it I just rolled up my sleeves and got going on it.

There's a "sync tool" which is basically the OneDrive engine, you "sync" a team site right into your Explorer libraries...so it shows up in the user libraries, right next to Documents, Pictures, Music, OneDrive for Business, etc etc. If you want to sync local copies.
Else...you just hit it with a browser.

Datto purchased OwnCloud, so DattoDrive is what OwnCloud has turned into. It's pretty good also...and as you see, the price for the basic version is hard to beat. They do have higher versions with more features and support...and more money. (for you to make)

 

[devham]

I don't have material off the top of my head for guides for Sharepoint.....I can't remember the ones I used a few years ago when I started fiddling with our own. Guess most of it I just rolled up my sleeves and got going on it.

There's a "sync tool" which is basically the OneDrive engine, you "sync" a team site right into your Explorer libraries...so it shows up in the user libraries, right next to Documents, Pictures, Music, OneDrive for Business, etc etc. If you want to sync local copies.
Else...you just hit it with a browser.

Datto purchased OwnCloud, so DattoDrive is what OwnCloud has turned into. It's pretty good also...and as you see, the price for the basic version is hard to beat. They do have higher versions with more features and support...and more money. (for you to make)

I am not set on syncing on all the data to the individual workstations, the customer just wants to be "cloud first". So will Sharepoint allow us to have a "file server in the cloud" and then open the files to edit with the web versions of Office?

I do like the group functions of DattoDrive. Makes it seem like the same permissions as when we use a file server. Ex: Sales users get added to the sales groups and have all the folder that they should be able to access.

 

[seedubya]

I am not set on syncing on all the data to the individual workstations, the customer just wants to be "cloud first". So will Sharepoint allow us to have a "file server in the cloud" and then open the files to edit with the web versions of Office

Yes absolutely and, while not as robust or extensive as AD & NTFS permissions, the groups and permissions in Sharepoint are very serviceable.
Everyone's main problem with Sharepoint is syncing closely followed by Library size limitations. It's best to set up at least one Library per security group. A library is where resources, such as files, are stored - it is NOT a folder and any folders that you create in Sharepoint are, like in Google Drive, simply virtual containers, not really folders as they would be on a physical drive at all.

Do they understand all of the implications of browser based computing? They will gain accessibility but will lose functionality, speed, space etc. Some of my clients could manage being cloud-first or even cloud-only but most could not. Any applications they have that are not cloud based will need physical machines still (or Citrix et al)

 

[Frick]

Sounds like you want a service that has WebDAV access. We resell eFolder's Anchor and love it. It has a ton of features

 

[marley1]

Anchor

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

I am not set on syncing on all the data to the individual workstations, the customer just wants to be "cloud first". So will Sharepoint allow us to have a "file server in the cloud" and then open the files to edit with the web versions of Office?

DattoDrive and Sharepoint can both be used via web browser access only...you don't need to sync locally.
You pretty much will not find such a functional cloud storage as DattoDrive for such a low price. If you Google around or search the forums, you'll see a lot of people (including techs) talk about OwnCloud..and how good it is..it was open source. Datto purchased it....and has been slowly "tweaking it"....has a great "intro" setup. First year free, after that..just 10 bucks for the basic package. Unlimited users.

I've looked at Anchor....back when it was by itself (developed/started by a small group of guys that used to work at Microsoft)...trialed it ourselves back then. I liked the product, but I did not want the big initial "buy in".....as a reseller you had to purchase some nominal monthly amount, like $250/month. I only had 1x client needing a cloud sync product and that would not have even covered the cost of it..so it was a no-go for me.

Not long ago eFolder purchased them....I wondered if they dropped or lowered that big initial buy-in...so I called and demo'd again. But they did not.
Their sales guys still hound me yearly..and since it's end of the year, twice already this month they've dialed for dollars me. So...that cost, versus DattoDrive..it's a no-brainer for me.

 

[Frick]

I actually bought in with Anchor before eFolder bought them. I had one client that wanted 100 licenses, so I got in early and really cheap. I am now grandfathered in on this old pricing and it is very profitable for me.

The product has grown a ton in features since I signed on and is now an easy sell. I usually include one license with my managed service plans to share files with the point of contact. More than half the time the client then wants to order multiple licenses since they see how great it is.

 

[marley1]

Nice 100 user off the bat

 

[Your PCMD]

I hate to ask, do you have any good resources for setting up Sharpoint?

You need to talk to Lisa. @callthatgirl I'm positive she would be able to assist you.

 

[devham]

I've started to play around with SharePoint online and so far so good. Once you get all the Microsoft terms out of the way it doesn't seem like so much of a bear.

Has anyone had any calls for this? My customer still is interested but I am having a hard time seeing how to setup a connection to QuickBooks or other applications for them.

My other thought was to setup an Azure server and a VPN to use as a file server. This may give me a little more flexibility in the long run.

Anyways, just a little curious as to what others were doing for "cloud desktops"

 

[trevm999]

I'd says RDS or Citrix would be the most common for SMB. And BTW, Google Cloud is cheaper than Azure as long as you don't need a SSD.

 

[devham]

I'd says RDS or Citrix would be the most common for SMB. And BTW, Google Cloud is cheaper than Azure as long as you don't need a SSD.

This will sound dumb, but can you run a Windows server on Google Cloud?

As well do you know any more information about Google Teams Folders? That sounded promising.

 

[trevm999]

This will sound dumb, but can you run a Windows server on Google Cloud?

As well do you know any more information about Google Teams Folders? That sounded promising.

It doesn't sound dumb to me, that was my first question too, haha. And yes, you can spin up Windows servers. For 1 core 4GB RAM Windows server running 24/7 you're looking at $150 USD/per month on Azure, Google is about $60 USD/month. (I forget how much GB storage that includes). The difference is that Azure would be on SSDs.

Unfortunately I didn't qualify for the Google Team Drive early access, since it wasn't available for GSuite Basic accounts to apply. The last I heard it was still up on the air whether or not it would be included with GSuite Basic (probably due to the problem of not having unlimited storage)