In an era of rapid digital transformation, how we work is changing. Work does not solely revolve around an office space. Tech-savvy millennial and information workers expect to be productive even when they are working remotely- be it at a client’s location, a cafe, their home (on the porch in the sun preferably 😉), or while traveling. This means that they need to stay connected, updated and access and share their corporate content especially when beyond the walls of the office.
Install for iOS and Android and try each benefit as you read.
Let us look at the 5 key benefits of the OneDrive mobile app – especially when on the go:
1. All your files at your fingertips
Stay connected to all your files from anywhere and any device, with the OneDrive mobile app. You can upload, preview, edit and co-author in native Office apps, share, delete and recover files directly from your mobile devices. You can even mark files and folders for offline access to make them available when you do not have an internet connection; when you are on a flight and need to work on your files on your iPad or Android tablet.
The OneDrive mobile app serves as an interface to access your individual work files and team files across Office 365. You can also keep tabs on file activities and manage multiple accounts in the same app – be it for work (business) and life (consumer).
Finally, with automatic camera backup, OneDrive ensures that critical business media captured on a mobile device stays backed up and secured within your organization.
Stay connected to all your files from any device. Edit, share, access photos and take files offline while on the go.
2. Scan to boost your productivity and capture
A major “wow factor” of the app is undoubtedly the built-in scanning capabilities that allow you to digitize content, while on the go. The power of Microsoft Office Lens is built right in to assist with dynamic image correction for whiteboards, documents and business cards along with converting them to easy-to-read PDF format. This enhanced capture experience with multi-page scan capabilities allows you to crop, add filters and annotations directly to the image.
Scan multiple pages with OneDrive mobile app.
Real life usage scenarios could include scanning and sharing interesting print articles or marketing research at trade shows or resumes at recruiting events and job fairs as well as capturing business cards and expense receipts when traveling to customer conferences. It’s fast, clean and if associated with a meeting, you’ll be prompted to share the scan with all or select attendees.
In the words of Cox Automotive , “Someone from the marketing team was out at an event and used the scan feature in the OneDrive mobile app to quickly upload photos direct to the right folder for the event. Team members back in Atlanta, GA, were able to grab those pictures in real time and use them to create content immediately.”- Lynee Willison, Senior Manager, Cox Automotive
Also, if you save a scanned document or image to a shared library in SharePoint, you can choose metadata properties as you upload. An example being, a Firstline worker can photograph a piece of equipment while on field inspection, enter the condition, equipment id, and other important attributes – all from their phone.
Capture metadata for the scanned image.
3. Collaborate and share on the go with OneDrive + Office
Need to collaborate on files while travelling to work or to a client’s location or flying to another city for a conference? Don’t worry! The OneDrive app has your back.
You can easily create, annotate, edit and co-author documents in real-time with your colleagues. You can also securely share these files with your peers, across departments or an external vendor outside your organization – directly from the app, with a seamless in experience with respect to web or desktop.
Note: To edit and co-auth, simply use the Office Mobile apps; the file remains in OneDrive so you are working with others on the single source of truth.
Share within or outside your organization. Edit, annotate and co-author directly from your mobile.
To quote Chevron ,“I can have 10 people distributed around the world, all working on mobile devices, editing a PowerPoint presentation in real time, without worrying about losing data. When you show people how easy it is to collaborate and share from anywhere, including their trusted mobile devices, and they ask, ‘Where has this been all my life?’ it’s very fulfilling.”- Jeff Jones, Productivity Champion, Chevron Corporation.
4. Save time “intelligently”
Like the main Web interface in Office 365, Microsoft Graph powers the OneDrive app to help you to find files that matter the most to you. Be it, discovering personalized recommended content in “Discover” view or surfacing files that you have recently accessed or shared.
This intelligence also improves the overall search experience within the OneDrive app. Machine learning automatically categorizes and indexes images unlocking additional content “inside” the pictures. So, whether you have scanned and uploaded a bill for a client dinner to expense or a business card, you need not remember their file name and location for future access. All you need to do is search with the text in the images- say “latte” or the information on the business card.
Intelligent search with OneDrive.
With a recent update to the app, now when you take a photo during a meeting, maybe a scan of notes you wrote down or a snap of a whiteboard where you brainstormed project plans with your colleagues, the OneDrive app will automatically prompt you to share the image with the meeting attendees, based on your Outlook calendar.
5. Protect and manage, by policy, with ease
Admins, this one is for you! We understand how important data governance is to you- which is why you will have the peace of mind with Microsoft’s trustworthy
Admin controls on device access in the OneDrive admin center
Mobile application management with Intune and OneDrive.
To summarize, the OneDrive app lets you easily work with your personal and work files when you’re on the go – without compromise to productivity or data security and privacy. Our goal is to make your experience ubiquitous no matter what platform – from Mac and Windows to iOS and Android.
One experience to rule them all! 😊
Pro Tip:
1. For iOS devices, a long-press on the app prompts options like share, scan and access recent files. OneDrive for iOS also supports scan centric Siri shortcuts.
Note: Siri shortcuts only show up after you’ve used the scan feature once.
OneDrive shortcuts for iOS. Scan or take a photo with Siri.
2. OneDrive is natively integrated with the Files app on iOS allowing you to access, upload, edit, and save your content to OneDrive or SharePoint Libraries from apps that support Files app integration. You can also tag and favorite your OneDrive and SharePoint files from within the Files app.
OneDrive integration with iOS Files App
Kirti, Ankita. “Top 5 Benefits of