It’s important you safely and securely manage your files. Based on the type of information you are working with, it’s essential that you select an appropriate storage location that meets your needs, as well as UQ’s and regulatory compliance requirements.  

Recommended UQ supported storage platforms for staff include:  

  • OneDriveAll UQ staff have access to 1TB of self-managed storage on OneDrive. You can sync OneDrive to your desktop File Explorer for easy access and navigation.

  • Teams/SharePoint. Teams/SharePoint storage can be used by UQ staff for storing shared documents for collaboration and team use. You can sync SharePoint to your desktop File Explorer for easy access and navigation.

  • Research Data Manager (UQ RDM). UQ RDM is specifically designed for research projects and provides 1TB of storage per project, which can be increased on request.

  • Digital Research Notebooks (DRNs). Positioned within RDM, DRNs replace paper research and lab notebooks, to easily and securely organise, store, and share your data.

  • TRIMUsed for document control and full lifecycle management of UQ documents. 

  • Network (Shared) DrivesThese drives can be seen by all staff members in a work group who have access to the shared folders. 

For an outline of the kinds of records that each system is approved to keep, please see section 7.3 of the Keeping Records at UQ Procedure.

Note: You/your area may have specific data storage requirements. Please consult with your local IT Support for guidance. 

 

Please note: Dropbox, Google Drive, and other personal cloud storage are not UQ-supported file storage platforms. Staff must not use these platforms to store UQ data, other than data already generated for public use. Using these tools to store UQ data (particularly personal information or information classified as SENSITIVE or PROTECTED) exposes UQ to privacy and cyber security risks and could lead to negative impacts for UQ, our staff, students and other community members. Additionally, staff who use these tools have limited support available regarding use of these tools and file recovery, and licence terms may also prohibit commercial use.

Staff must use UQ-supported platforms or discuss exceptions with ITS. See Where to store your files based on information security classification for details on UQ file storage platforms and their functionality.

If you are unsure whether UQ file storage platforms meet your needs, submit an IT support request.

Key supported*​
Unsupported​
Storage Platforms​
UQ OneDrive​
Network (Shared) Drives​
SharePoint ​
Microsoft Teams​
UQ RDM​ (including DRNs)
TRIM​
Local DeviceStorage (e.g.laptop/ computer)​
USB​
Personal CloudStorage​
Storage type​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day
to long term​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Day-to-day​
Primary storage use​
Working documents & targeted collaboration​
Working documents & group file sharing​
Working documents & group file sharing​
Group collaboration & discussion​
Research data ​
 Vital, high risk, high value documents & retention control​
Personal​
Personal​
Personal​
Suitable information security classification​
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
 
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
PROTECTED
 
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
PROTECTED
 
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
PROTECTED
 
PUBLIC
OFFICIAL
SENSITIVE
PROTECTED
PUBLIC
PUBLIC
PUBLIC
Stored in Australia​
✔​
✔​     
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
Device-dependent​
Device-dependent​
Plan-dependent​
Backup / retention​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
x​
x
Plan-dependent​
Syncing with local copy​
✔​
N/A​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
N/A​
x
Plan-dependent​
Internal (within UQ)collaborator access​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
✔​
x
x
Plan-dependent​
External collaborator access​
✔​
x
✔​
✔​
✔​
x
x
x
Plan-dependent​
Storage limit​
1 TB​
Location dependent​
100 GB​
100GB
1 TB+​
Unlimited​
Device-dependent​
Device-dependent​
Plan-dependent​
Version control​
✔​
x
✔​
x​
x
✔​
x​
x
Plan-dependent​
Recovery from deletion ​
60 days​
60 days​
60 days​
60 days​
60 days​
Inbuilt ​compliance
x​
x​
Plan-dependent​

*These are key systems used at UQ. There are other information storage systems not included in this table which may be appropriate dependent on the sutiation.

Note that for SENSITIVE and PROTECTED data, encryption and/or other controls may be required. Please refer to UQ's Data Handling Procedure.

For more information on managing research data at UQ, visit the Library's Manage research data page.