Is there a need for Shared Drive in SharePoint Architecture design?

Question

I have a central shared drive for my organization with departmental subfolders accessible by the staff based on AD. I setup SharePoint Online and uploaded files in the shared folder into the SharePoint. Staff Personal files are uploaded as well.

Do I still need to keep the Shared drive? If not please advice.

What should be the best architecture to ensure staff can access the central shared folder on SharePoint as well as their personal files incase the Internet connection is down?

Answer 1

By default, SharePoint online provide OneDrive for each user. They can, or with your assistant, upload personal files to their own OneDrive. OneDrive come with desktop and mobile client. Staffs can install on their own PC and sync the files between PC and MS cloud. In case Internet fail they still have files offline.

Another approach is create your own script or acquire 3rd party software to regular sync the files between SPO and your company's shared drive. With this approach you have the right to maintain the structure and keep the best practice (e.g. retention policy). No need to depends on staffs themselves to regulate their files.

Answer 2

Agree with Mark. OneDrive is a great tool to replace central shared drive.

Here're some references about SharePoint with OneDrive for you.

Sync SharePoint and Teams files with your computer

Microsoft Office 365 File Sharing Guide: OneDrive and SharePoint Tips