Comparison of Document Management & Collaboration Tools

Duke provides a number of online storage and collaboration services to the Duke community. 

Faculty, students, and staff can take advantage of one, some, or all of these tools.

If you are not sure which one to choose, please use the same service as the rest of your team.

Below is a brief comparison of available storage and/or collaboration services at Duke.

Services available to ALL Faculty, Staff, & Students
 Features  Box.com  OneDrive for Business  CIFS
Recommended Use Working on a project with multiple people in different physical locations 
Sharing documents securely and tracking version updates
Syncing files between computer and mobile devices
Working on a project with multiple people in different physical locations
Sharing Microsoft Office files-types during group projects with internal Office 365 users only
Integrates seamlessly with Windows operating systems devices (PC, tablets, and Windows Phone)
 Storing and Backing up personal data independent of your local computer in the event that you are using a library computer or virtual computing lab machine
Default storage space 50 GB*  1 TB  5 GB*
Maximum file size 50 GB** 10 GB Equal to current available storage space
Connection Requirements Internet Internet Duke Network or Duke VPN
Version tracking / History Yes Yes No
Offline sync Yes Yes No
Sync to multiple mobile devices Yes Windows, iOS, Android  No
File preview Yes Yes; Office 365 apps - automatically launches No
256-bit encrypted storage & transfer  Yes Yes No; VPN client is required to encrypt
Role-based access levels for sharing Yes Yes; limited to "can edit" and "can view" No
Email to folder functionality Yes No No
Full-text search Yes Yes No
Available after graduation Account must be transitioned to personal account before graduation No; If OneDrive device sync is used a local copy of the files are retained Yes; available for 1 year
Cost Free Free Free
Granular permissions at folder and file level Yes Yes; limited to "can edit" and "can view" Yes
Custom URLs for shared folders Yes Yes No
Cross-platform Windows, Mac Windows, Mac Windows, Mac, Linux
Approved for Sensitive Data Yes No No

 An asterisk (*) denotes services where requests for quota increase can be sent to OIT for approval.

 Two asterisks (**) denote how Box has application specific upload limits, please see the following applications to review their upload limits:

  • Box Mobile: 15GB
  • Box Drive: 15GB
  • Box Sync: 15GB
  • Email Uploads: 50MB

 Please be aware that these upload limits are subject to change by Box without notice.

Services for ONLY Faculty & Staff
 FEATURES SharePoint On Premises NAS  Protected Network Departmental Share
Recommended Use Communicating project information such as announcements, policies, mission statements, and tasks to a team of people.  Storing and Backing up data where reliable data access and read/write performance is crucial Storing and sharing sensitive data, as classified by the IT Security Office  Storing and Backing up data where reliable data access and read/write performance is crucial
Default Storage Space  10 GB / site collection  Based on amount of space purchased  Based on amount of space purchased  Based on amount of space purchased
Maximum file size  10 GB  16 TB  16 TB  16 TB
Connection Requirements  Internet  Duke Network or Duke VPN  Duke Network or Duke VPN  Duke Network or Duke VPN
Version tracking / history  Yes  Backups available per request to OIT  Backups available per request to OIT  Backups available per request to OIT
Offline Sync  Yes  No  No  No
Sync to multiple devices  No  No  No  No
File Preview  Yes  No  No  No
256-bit encrypter storage & transfer  No  No  No  No
Role-based access levels for sharing  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes
Email to folder functionality  Yes  No  No  No
Full-text search  Yes  No  No  No
Available after termination  No  No  No  No
Cost  $700/year  $/GB  $/GB  $/GB
Granular permissions at folder and file level  Yes  Yes  Yes  Yes
Custom URL's for shared folders  Yes  No  No  No
Cross-platform  Available via web browser  Windows, Mac, Linux  Windows, Mac, Linux  Windows, Mac, Linux
Approved for Sensitive Data  No  No  Yes  No

Description:

  • Duke’s Box is a cloud-based storage and collaboration service for all Duke University and Duke Medicine faculty, staff and students. With Box, users can access, store and share content securely with Duke and non-Duke users — anywhere, anytime, on any device.
  • CIFS (Common Internet File System) is a proven and reliable protocol for managing personal home directories. A personal home directory allows you to store and manage files for your personal, private use on Duke's centrally-managed storage infrastructure.
  • Microsoft OneDrive for Business allows users to store, sync, share files and collaborate with others at Duke online. It also allows you to use the mobile version of Microsoft Office, available free through Duke's site license with Microsoft, so you can edit, share and collaborate on documents using your mobile device or tablet.
  • Microsoft SharePoint is a web-collaboration platform that provides an integrated suite of server capabilities including comprehensive content management, enterprise search, shared business processes and information-sharing facilitation. Note: cost associated with this service.
  • NAS – OIT has a NAS (CIFS or NFS) offering which by allowing connectivity via the network is often used for departments/schools as it can be accessed directly from outside of the datacenter.  NAS utilizes the IP network instead of the SAN to allow access to the storage. Additionally NAS allows the storage to be shared by multiple clients. Departmental Share uses the same technology.
  • The Protected Network is a resource for storage and analysis of Sensitive research data. The network is separated virtually from the general Duke network and has more extensive security protections. It comprises dedicated storage and virtual machines (VMs), and requires specific authorization from the Campus ITSO for access.

Article Number: KB0026081