#InsideIT

We've all done it.

A few replies later, your inbox is full of attachments, you're trying to remember who has responded, and the files you need are scattered across an email thread.

There are better options already available to you at KAUST. Everyone at KAUST has access to both Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. The trick is choosing the right tool for what you're trying to do.

If you just need someone to send you files

OneDrive Request Files is designed specifically for this.

Choose a folder in OneDrive, create a file request, and send the generated link to the people you need files from.

This can be particularly useful when collecting documents from:

• Visitors or external partners
• Vendors and contractors
• Event participants
• Project teams
• Several people contributing files to the same process

Instead of receiving everything separately through email, the files arrive in one place.

Need some information too? Add a template.

You aren't limited to collecting just one document.

If you need some information alongside the supporting files, send people a Word or Excel template showing exactly what information you need and how you need it provided. They can complete the template and upload it through the same File Request with their supporting documents.

Everything arrives in the same location instead of having passport copies and other personal information passed around as email attachments.

What if you need structured answers too?

Sometimes you need to collect structured information from people as well as documents. That's where a form may make more sense.

For simpler processes, you may not need a form at all. If you only need a few pieces of information in a known format, a template combined with a OneDrive File Request can keep the entire process together. Forms become more useful when you're collecting structured information from many people and need the responses organized for filtering, analysis, or follow-up.

Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace? You have both.

Your KAUST email platform and your access to Microsoft 365 or Google Workspace are two different things. Everyone at KAUST has access to both platforms.

For Gmail accounts, the 100 GB allocation is shared across Google Workspace services, including Gmail and Google Drive.

So you don't have to choose a tool simply because "I'm an Outlook person" or "I'm a Gmail person." Start with what you're trying to accomplish, then choose the appropriate KAUST-supported tool.

If people actually need to work together

Collecting a file and collaborating on a file are different jobs.

If people need to open, edit, review, or continue working with shared content, use an appropriately shared location in OneDrive, SharePoint, or Google Drive instead. Give access only to the people who actually need it and use the lowest permission level that allows them to do their work.

Before you collect anything, think about the data

Convenience is only half of the decision.

KAUST classifies information at four levels: Public, Internal, Restricted, and Highly Restricted.

Personal information and sensitive documents require additional care. A passport copy, national ID, personnel information, financial record, or sensitive government document should not be treated like an ordinary project file.

• Collect only what you actually need.
• Use an appropriate KAUST-supported platform.
• Give access only to the people who need the information to complete the work.
• Use Specific people sharing links when information needs to be shared.
• Never use Anyone links, including broad Anyone at KAUST links, for this type of information.
• Check who has access to the destination folder.
• Remove access when it is no longer required.
• Avoid creating unnecessary additional copies.

The job is finished. What happens to the files?

A project finishes. A visitor gets their KAUST ID. A pass is issued. Everyone moves on.

The files don't.

If you collected personal information or sensitive documents for a specific task, go back and clean up once that task is complete.

If there is no business, legal, or records-management requirement to retain a copy, don't keep sensitive information sitting in your OneDrive, Google Drive, inbox, or project folder "just in case."

For example, if you collected passport copies to arrange KAUST IDs or visitor access, once the appropriate team has completed that process and the documents are no longer required, go back to the collection folder and remove them.

Also think about other copies created along the way. Did you download something to your computer? Save a copy somewhere else? Receive the same document as an email attachment? If those copies are no longer required, clean those up too.

Good data management includes the end of the process, not just how you collected the information at the beginning.

Which option should I use?

Collect only what you need.

Share it only with people who need it.

Delete it when you no longer need it.