In the Microsoft Ignite conference that took place some time ago, two
major features were announced to be released in upcoming updates. Earlier there
were many issues by users trying to share files to some external person as
sharing was only allowed to those who had a Microsoft account. This is not the
case anymore. Both Sharepoint and OneDrive gets major upgrades in the way
external sharing works in them.
Complete Access to Specific Recipients
While using Microsoft 365 you can share files/folders
easily with the shareable links. Any
and all intended recipients when opening the link, are granted immediate access
without going through any long verification process. You can even create custom
shareable links of your own that can only be viewed by your team within your
organization itself.
Taking a step further, you can assign links to specific people who will
have to go through a layer of extra security measure that they are the intended
recipients. For example, you are working in a company A and you need to share
some files to your client B. Now you can share a link where only a particular
email or group of emails will be able to view and/or edit the document. Those
intended recipients will receive a verification code on their email valid for a
limited period of time and will need to log in with the same email to access
the document.
With the help of these secured external links, you can easily provide
access to files/folders to others persons who don't have a Microsoft account.
Though, if they are trying to use it in Sharepoint Environment, then, in that
case, they need to have a Hotmail or Live email account to be able to log in.
Not only email-based verification codes are extremely secure, they are also
familiar to the bunch of users surfing regularly via internet sites.
Related: OneDrive Files On-Demand – A Feature Easing File Access!
Time-Based Identity Re-Verification of
Recipients
Earlier a recipient used to have access until it was revoked by the
original file owner. Now you can do this easily after a certain period of time.
The files and folders that you share can be customized to ask for new codes and
re-verification of email after a specific number of days. With the help of this
feature, you can now protect your valuable documents from unnecessary and
invalid access to persons who are no longer in the loop.
To enable this feature, you only need to look for it in the ‘Sharing
Section' of your particular file or folder. This method is particularly beneficial
for sharing files/folders with the external users who may no longer be
concerned with it after a certain amount of time. Nowadays, people outsource a
lot and with this feature, now they need not worry about someone having access
after a requisite period of time that they need to have it for.
This collaboration not
only includes your organization but extends to external business contacts which
essentially do not come within your corporate structure. Earlier in the day, to
manage the security of such system admins were burdened with the extra
responsibility of managing the user logins and access. Now with the help of
this, you can easily do so without any extra efforts.
If you or your company regularly engages in
external sharing of files or folders outside the organization, then it's the
time that you make a move to Microsoft Sharepoint and Office 365. You can even
share content with people outside your organization who do not possess your
Office 365 subscription. Also, take a look at How to Enhance Productivity with Cost Savvy OneDrive.
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