Faculty and staff: Explore shared storage options at Rutgers

At Rutgers, faculty and staff have a variety of options for storing important data and documents online. While individual Box or OneDrive accounts may be the convenient go-to option, shared storage accounts are often preferable for a variety of reasons, such as online collaboration and long-term data management and retention.

“From Microsoft Teams to Box, groups or departments can easily utilize shared accounts for storing, sharing, and collaborating on files,” says Lys Andrejic, an application developer within the Office of Information Technology. “Shared accounts provide secure, organized access to a number of resources and help keep everyone on your team on the same page.”

One of the main advantages of using shared storage accounts is ensuring continuous access to important files, even if a team member leaves the university or moves to a different position within Rutgers. Unlike individual accounts, where files may become inaccessible if the account owner departs, shared accounts make sure that all team members retain access to necessary documents.

An individual or group considering the need for shared storage space should typically have a discussion with their team and IT administrators to consider the options and ensure the decision aligns with the unit’s overall plans. Your department may also already be leveraging a shared storage space option, so be sure to check in and gain access to existing resources or request new ones.

The following Rutgers platforms offer the opportunity for shared storage options:

• Microsoft Teams

  There are two options for shared accounts in Microsoft Teams, offering storage up to 1TB. With a Teams departmental account, individuals can select a group of people to collaborate with and set up a collection of shared resources including Calendar, OneDrive, and OneNote that are automatically synced with the group. For a limited version of a shared account, individuals can opt to make a self-created Teams account instead.

• ScarletApps

  While there currently is no shared storage option for ScarletMail at the university, individuals can create a shared Google Group in their ScarletApps that includes a collaborative inbox with access for multiple people.

• Box

  With a Box departmental account at Rutgers, users can create a designated group of people that will all have access to a centralized space for shared files with storage up to 25TB. Individuals can work together on documents in real-time as well as access those files from any device with an Internet connection.

Setting up some of these shared storage options, such as Microsoft Teams and Box accounts, requires assistance from your department’s IT administrator. Individuals or teams interested in creating a shared storage account should view this article about shared storage at the Rutgers IT knowledge base to learn more.