SkyDrive has been getting a revamp over the last few months – it has been given a visual makeover to bring it in line with the rest of the Microsoft’s online services, and its now being touted as a much more solid cloud solution, rather than simply an online storage space. I’ve no doubt that this is due to the direction that Microsoft is taking Windows – away from the desk and into mobile devices and tablets.
What is SkyDrive?
SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud solution. It ties in with traditional desktop and laptop computers, as well as tablets, hybrids and mobile devices. As a service, it has quite a large feature set and includes 7GB standard free storage . On top of this, you get access to Microsoft’s Office Web Apps - these are versions of Word, PowerPoint and Excel, albeit with the features trimmed a little, but an ample equivalent to the likes of Google Docs and for simple office-type work will suit most people.
SkyDrive is also everywhere. There are apps for you Windows PC or Tablet, Mac, Windows Phone, iPhone, iPad or Android device! SkyDrive has also been quite important with Windows 8 Tablets, including Microsoft’s own Surface RT. Some of devices have shamefully low amounts of available storage space so having an in-place cloud solution is kind of a must, and you are actively encouraged to use SkyDrive on these devices in order to save on your internal storage.
SkyDrive also comes integrated into the 2013 edition of Microsoft Office, meaning you can save and open files directly to and from SkyDrive right from Word, PowerPoint or any office program. And if you subscribe to Microsoft’s new Office 365 Home Premium service you also get an extra 20GB as part of your subscription, with additional storage space costing a yearly fee depending on how much you want.
It's all about the apps!
To truly get the most from SkyDrive, you need to download the appropriate apps to your various platforms. Depending on which device you have, you will get certain features with each one. Naturally the best experience can be had with Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8, but the apps for other devices do a good job of bringing SkyDrive's features to a large variety of platforms.
On your desktop computer
Whether you have a Mac or Windows PC, the process is virtually identical. The only exception being on Windows 8, where you have the option to install both the desktop and metro versions . The standard desktop version works very much like Dropbox in that it places a folder into your user profile, and this folder is a direct link to SkyDrive. It will download any existing files from SkyDrive to this folder, and anything you drop into this folder gets automatically uploaded to SkyDrive. By default it will automatically place the SkyDrive folder within your user folder, but you can adjust this to be anywhere during the setup. You can also add and remove folders, as well as the standard re-naming, copy, paste etc.
Tablet
There are versions of SkyDrive available for Windows tablets and iPad, so you can extend the experience onto these devices too. If you've got an iPad, the app is very much an enlarged version of the iPhone app and allows you to view, edit and add files. You can also view files that have been shared with you too. The Windows metro version is very much the same, except it has a much more Windows 8 feel to it. You can view, edit and upload files and it can also plug into other apps as well, such as mailing a photo direct from SkyDrive.
Mobile Phone
In the mobile space, Windows Phone’s already have a good advantage when it comes to SkyDrive, as there are many features built right into the OS. These include being able to back up directly to SkyDrive, as well as being able to access your photos directly from the Pictures Hub or your documents directly from the Office Hub. Downloading the app also adds on the management features, so that you can access your SkyDrive just as if it were a folder.
iPhone and Android users can download the app from their respective stores, and adds on the same features as most of the other apps – the ability to manage all your files as well as view them on the go. If you have any sort of office app installed such as Apple’s Pages – then you can also work directly on the document whilst you’re travelling and then continue working on it at your computer. Seriously handy.
Web
As well as being available for a range of devices in the form of apps, you can also get access to your SkyDrive simply by visiting SkyDrive.com, where you can again view and manage your files, but here you also have access to account settings as well as the Office Web Apps.
The Office Web Apps give you the option to create Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents directly from within your web browser. This feature is very useful if you're at a computer without access to Office, as you can get a lot of work done within the web apps themselves. As a test I attempted to write some of this article using the Word Web App - and the results were pretty good!
Working Together
Using SkyDrive as a standalone service is pretty useful, as you get the web apps as well as access to files from any computer. But add on the apps to each of your devices and you'll find that your productivity need never falter - you can start a document on your desktop at home, carry on with it on the train ride using your tablet , tweak it on the walk in using your mobile and then finalise and show it off on your work PC.
There you have it, check out the service on a device near you. Enjoy.