Where to store your files and information

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:

OneDrive. All 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.
TRIM. Used for document control and full lifecycle management of UQ documents.

Network (Shared) Drives. These 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
	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 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
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
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
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
Stored in Australia	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	Device-dependent	Device-dependent	Plan-dependent
Backup / retention	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	x	x	Plan-dependent
Backup / retention	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	x	x	Plan-dependent
Syncing with local copy	✔	N/A	✔	✔	✔	✔	N/A	x	Plan-dependent
Syncing with local copy	✔	N/A	✔	✔	✔	✔	N/A	x	Plan-dependent
Internal (within UQ)collaborator access	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	x	x	Plan-dependent
Internal (within UQ)collaborator access	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	x	x	Plan-dependent
External collaborator access	✔	x	✔	✔	✔	x	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
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
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.