A SharePoint Online (SPO) Document Library is a great place to store files that need to be shared with a group (team, department, etc). In most circumstances, this is a preferred alternative to the G drive.
Advantages of SPO:
- Accessible from any Internet-connected device, anywhere. No need to be connected to UNBC network (on campus, on VPN, or on VMware Horizon virtual desktop), all you need is Internet access.
- Can self-manage permissions (no need to involve ITS)
- Can grant access to people outside UNBC (either to the entire SharePoint site, or to specific files/folders using the Share option)
You may already be using SPO without knowing it. If you are a member of a Microsoft Team, the Files tab on a Channel is a way of viewing the SharePoint Document Library folder for that Channel. You can also click the Open in SharePoint option in the top bar to open the SharePoint site in your browser.
Here is an explanation of SharePoint Document Libraries from Microsoft: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/what-is-a-document-library-3b5976dd-65cf-4c9e-bf5a-713c10ca2872
Requesting a new Team/SharePoint Online site
If you need some dedicated (private) storage space:
Tips & Tricks
Sharing/Requesting Files
Working with SharePoint Online files & folders in Windows File Explorer
If you prefer to work with your files in Windows File Explorer instead of a browser, you can use the OneDrive sync client to make your Teams/SharePoint Online document libraries accessible in Windows Explorer.
Microsoft instructions: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sync-sharepoint-and-teams-files-with-your-computer-6de9ede8-5b6e-4503-80b2-6190f3354a88