OneDrive Under Control: How to Clean Up Your Data at the End of the Semester

5 Jun 2024

Reducing OneDrive Capacity

Během jara letošního roku jsme byli nuceni snížit kapacitu OneDrive, protože ze strany Microsoftu došlo k omezení přiděleného místa. Nově jsou tak kapacity nastaveny na 100 GB pro zaměstnance a doktorské studenty a 30 GB pro studenty bakalářského a magisterského studia.

During the spring of this year, we were forced to reduce OneDrive capacity due to a reduction in allocated space from Microsoft. As a result, capacities are now set at 100 GB for staff and PhD students and 30 GB for bachelor and master degree students.

How to Free Up Capacity in Your OneDrive

If you need more space on your OneDrive, we've got some tips for freeing up capacity:

• Delete unnecessary files and folders.
• Empty the Recycle Bin.
• Consider whether you need to back up your PC's Pictures and Desktop folders to OneDrive.
• Delete older versions of files.
• Move course materials (and especially meeting records) to the MU IS.
• Move your data elsewhere. Team or network storage - see below, then private data to an external drive or other cloud services.

Find out more in the detailed instructions.

What's the Difference Between OneDrive and Team Storage?

OneDrive storage

• It's for personal work/study data - that is, work or study data that only applies to you. For example, your own thesis, dissertation or habilitation work. Or a draft of a document you're working on and don't want to share with others yet.
• Not intended for team data - this should be in an appropriate team space (SharePoint, MS Teams).
• Not meant for private data - this is meant to be on private storage, whether it's a private OneDrive, Google Drive or a physical external drive.
• It is suitable for regular data that is actively worked with. It is not intended for long-term archiving of large volumes of data and is not suitable for large files (e.g. videos, databases) that change frequently.

Team Repositories (Sharepoint, MS Teams and Microsoft 365 groups)

• These are for team data - that is, data that you work on within a department or project. Most of the files we normally work with are just team-based. The advantage of storing data in a team space is that when an employee is unavailable for a long period of time (e.g. parental leave, illness) or even when they leave MU, access to the data is not lost for other members of the department or team.
• Team repositories are suitable for data that is routinely worked with. They are not designed for long-term archiving of large volumes of data and for large files (e.g. videos, databases) that change frequently. For these types of data, there are other repositories at MU (see below).

Network File-Storage at MU

There are other types of storage available at MU that you can use for your work data, in particular "middle storage". In some faculties, this storage is automatically available to all users and is connected to the computer as a network drive.

For some types of data, network storage is more suitable than Microsoft 365 storage (e.g. archive data, large files, etc.). You can find an overview of network storage options at this link, where you can also use the form to consult which storage is best for your data.

Other Reducing Options

It's not just data that deserves regular cleaning - it's also good to check from time to time who actually has access to our documents, what teams we're on and whether it's still relevant. And also who is in the teams or groups we manage.

Regular Reviews of Sharing

Collaboration is a daily routine for most of us, so it's normal to share files from OneDrive as well as within various teams and workgroups from Sharepoint. After a while, it can be easy to lose track of who has shared what and who has access to what. Fortunately, there are ways to audit sharing and access. You can find tutorials here:

• Instructions for OneDrive
• Instructions for SharePoint (also applies to files in Teams)

Check Your Team Memberships

As the number of projects grows, so does the number of teams, groups, shared mailboxes and calendars that you own and continue to share or where you yourself are a member. So it's a good idea to check them once in a while to see who else is among the owners or members and how permissions are set for access or sharing. If there is no longer a need for you to be a member of a particular group, it is advisable to leave it. If you own a team, consider its currency and if you know you will no longer need the team, remove it.

• See a list of teams, groups and communities where you are an owner.
• See a list of teams, groups and communities where you are a member.

Share Documents Sensibly

If a document contains confidential information, always think about who you are sharing it with. It's also a good idea to follow secure sharing rules:

• Think carefully about who needs access to documents or files. It is better to share specifically to specific people rather than across the board.
• Sharing over anonymous lines is risky - you never know who else may get access to the document. All it takes is for a colleague to unknowingly email the link on, and the problem could be over! If you already use anonymous links, you can limit their validity for a limited time.
• Even if you choose the "People at MUNI" sharing type, this is a very wide range of users! If such a link starts spreading around the university, not only people from other departments can get access to the document, but also, for example, students or extramuralists with a so-called sponsored account.
• When sharing, consider what permissions others need to access the document or folder - they don't always need rights to edit it directly! Often it is enough that they can view the document or just suggest edits. Setting permissions appropriately will help you retain control of the document.
• Don't forget that the recipient of the sharing can share the documents too!
• Want a refresher on how to share documents? Check out this easy-to-follow guide.

Be Cautious when Communicating

If you report any problem, only University staff will communicate with you - either colleagues from the faculty IT centres or from the Department of Computer Science. You will never be contacted by Microsoft technical support. If someone calls you claiming to be Microsoft support, never give them any details and end the call.

Never reveal your login or other confidential information by email or phone. Technical support from CIT or the Service Desk will never ask for them. If you are not sure who is contacting you (e.g. in the case of an external company), feel free to verify the contact details (email address, phone number) on the company's official website.

For more information about cybersecurity, including the ability to report security incidents, please visit the MU Cybersecurity Team webpage.