Where should I store my project data?

There are many storage options available to faculty, staff and graduate students. Refer to the Guidelines for secure data exchange: Choosing information transmission methods based on the security classification. To help choose between the various options, ask these four questions: 

1. Do I want a space for file delivery/transfer or collaboration? For collaboration work, you need space to store the files, modify the content and collaborate with others (such as offered by network storage, Teams or SharePoint). For delivery or transfer of files, you need space for others to be able to access or retrieve the files, but long-term access is not required. In these cases, a service like SendIt or OneDrive can be used. 

2. What kind of data am I storing? Does it contain restricted or highly restricted information? Refer to the Guidelines for secure data exchange: Choosing information transmission methods based on the security classification.

3. What is the scope of the collaboration? Is this a small, ad-hoc, short-term collaboration or is this a larger, on-going collaboration. Personal file sharing (OneDrive) is appropriate for small, short-term sharing and collaboration. For longer-term or larger group collaboration, you should investigate other options (such as Teams, SharePoint, Health Research Storage space or HealthCloud). Refer to When to choose OneDrive, Microsoft Teams, or SharePoint Online.

4. Who do I need to have access to the data? Does the data need to be accessed by people outside of UWaterloo? External people can be added to Teams. HealthCloud is an UWaterloo-hosted option that is available for cases where cloud-based storage is not permitted. For external sharing options using OneDrive or SharePoint refer to How to add External Users to SharePoint Online and Sharing files externally using OneDrive.