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Recently, at the Microsoft Ignite conference, there were a lot of exciting announcements. The news that really hit the mark with me were the changes that were announced surrounding the One Drive for Business Sync App during the session called I Sync, Therefore I Am: A Deep Dive on OneDrive Sync Capabilities and Roadmap presented by Jason Moore from Microsoft. Many of the issues and roadblocks that our clients are experiencing with the OneDrive for Business Sync App are being addressed by Microsoft in the next release!
Overview
Microsoft is building a single sync engine for OneDrive and OneDrive for Business. They are taking the solid and proven codebase from the OneDrive consumer sync product and will leverage that for OneDrive for Business sync. It is already at scale with millions of users, and it uses a correctness model for proving reliability (checking both device and file correctness), to make sure that all your files in the cloud match with your computer.
Key Sync Features
Some of the upcoming features that I’m really excited about are:
- Removing file limits, including no more 20k file limit, as well as support for up to 10 GB files
- No more double caching of files, which will reduce the time it takes to sync content
- The size of the sync installation program has been greatly reduced so that it doesn’t take forever to download
- Users can block personal and unmanaged sync
- And my personal favorite, selective sync! No longer do users have to sync their entire OneDrive for Business library to their computer. Now they’ll be able to sync only the folders that they choose and even specific files
- Future releases (after the initial release) will include file and folder name support for # and % characters, and supporting longer file paths
Timeline
The following outlines the expected timelines for release of these new features:
- The TAP program begins end of September
- The RTM version will be released by the end of the year
- The release Includes both PCs and Macs
- More frequent releases will happen after the initial release
To find out more about this or other ways that RSM can assist you with your SharePoint or Office 365 needs, contact McGladrey’s technology consulting professionals at 800.274.3978 or email us.
