Choosing Your Document Management System: OneDrive vs. SharePoint

What is the best document management solution for you and your business, One Drive for Business or SharePoint? In this blog post we assess whether and how they should be used as a DMS for a growing company.

For businesses developing complex technologies - especially those navigating strict compliance requirements - effective document management is not optional; it’s essential.

Since Microsoft 365 is already a standard in most workplaces, it's natural to turn to its built-in tools- OneDrive for Business and SharePoint - as potential solutions for document control. But a critical question remains: are these tools truly capable of functioning as a comprehensive Document Management System (DMS)?

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While both OneDrive and SharePoint offer strong capabilities for file storage and sharing, they were designed with different core purposes. Understanding the distinctions between them is key to determining whether either—or both—can meet your organization's document management needs.

What is the Difference Between OneDrive and SharePoint?

OneDrive for Business is best understood as a personal cloud storage solution. It's designed for individual users to store their work, share files with small groups, and collaborate on documents in real-time.

It’s an excellent tool for remote work and ensuring access to files from any device, especially when considering its storage, account accessibility, and file on demand features.

SharePoint, on the other hand, is a much broader collaboration platform. It is designed to be a central repository for team and company-wide information, allowing businesses to build internal websites, manage workflows, and create more formal, structured document libraries. It’s specifically designed to integrate with tools like Microsoft Dynamics, Microsoft Azure, and Microsoft 365 Copilot to form the backbone of a data management and content management strategy.

Is OneDrive for Business a Document Management System?

The short answer is no. While OneDrive is perfect for simple file sharing and collaboration, it lacks the sophisticated control required of a true document management system.

What OneDrive Does Well:

• Easy collaboration: Allows multiple users to access and edit office documents from any location, with changes synced in real-time.
• Simple sharing: Users can easily share files and folders with internal and external sharing partners.
• Basic access control: Administrators can set access control permissions to manage who can view or edit specific documents.
• Mobility and flexibility: Fits perfectly with modern, agile working patterns, enabling productivity from anywhere

Where OneDrive falls short

For businesses with complex projects or regulatory requirements, OneDrive’s limitations quickly become apparent. Consider a medical device company that must adhere to ISO 13485 standards. They must ask:

• Is the audit trail sufficient? Can you prove to an auditor exactly who approved a document and when?
• Can you enforce process control? Is it possible to "phase gate" a project, requiring formal approvals before documents are released?
• How do you lock final documents? Can you secure a final, approved version to prevent unauthorised changes?

OneDrive is not designed to provide this level of granular control, which is essential for quality management and regulatory compliance. It does not support robust version control, enforceable document workflows, or the ability to manage shared files or shared document locking with precision.

Is SharePoint the Answer?

If OneDrive is too simple, SharePoint seems like the logical next step. And to be fair, Microsoft SharePoint can be configured into a powerful document management system.

With significant time and specialist support, you can build a SharePoint solution with:

• Lockable repositories for quality documentation
• Comprehensive and auditable document workflows
• Digital signature integrations
• Features that meet the demanding requirements of ISO standards
• Support for managing numerous files, file history, and permissions

SharePoint vs OneDrive for Business: DMS capability comparison

The hidden cost: when does configuration beome a development project?

SharePoint can be your DMS - but at a significant cost. Achieving the robust functionality you need is not an out-of-the-box experience. It is a complex setup process that requires deep technical expertise.

Before committing to SharePoint, consider the following:

• Implementation costs: You will likely need to hire external consultants to design and build your DMS, a process that can be lengthy and expensive. SharePoint consultants cost hundreds per day.
• Internal resources: Do you have a dedicated SharePoint Administrator? This role needs experience with Windows Server, Active Directory and more.
• Ongoing Maintenance: Your system will require continuous upkeep, upgrades, and support - diverting resources from core operations.

For many small and medium-sized enterprises, configuring a DMS in SharePoint becomes a fully-fledged development project, taking time away from building your actual product.

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