Microsoft Brings OneDrive for Business to Mac and iOS

One of the major gaps in Microsoft’s cross-platform strategy has been closed: Today, Microsoft made its OneDrive for Business cloud storage service available to users of Apple’s computing platforms. But the implementations are different: Mac users can now download a public preview of the OneDrive for Business sync client, while iOS users can now access the service via an update to the OneDrive mobile app.

This is perhaps not surprising, though I do still expect Microsoft to create sync clients for Windows and Mac that let you access both OneDrive (for consumers) and OneDrive for Business, instead of requiring separate sync clients for each. For now, at least, Mac-based access to OneDrive for Business works as it does in Windows 7 and 8 (and Windows 10): Via a standalone client that can run alongside a separate sync client for OneDrive (for consumers).

On iOS, we’re seeing the same sort of mobile client that Microsoft has provided on Windows Phone, Android and Fire Phone: A single mobile app that can connect to both OneDrive and OneDrive for Business. As Microsoft puts it, this release for iOS “rounds out the first phase of its mobile investments that deliver a single OneDrive experience across work and life.”

Also, if you read OneDrive is Delivering Major Photo Experience Improvements yesterday, you know that OneDrive for iOS will be among the first clients to see the new OneDrive photos experiences. And sure enough, today’s update delivers those new features too. So you can access and create albums and tags in this release too. I’ll be checking that out later today.

You can download the OneDrive for Business sync client preview for Mac from the Microsoft Download Center. And you can download the updated OneDrive app for iOS (iPhone, iPad) from Apple’s App Store.