5 Powerful Tips to Organise Shared Cloud Storage

Is there anything more Melbourne in the summer than the Australian Open?

Balmy summer nights, roof open on Rod Laver Arena and watching the worlds best go head-to-head. 

Melbourne Park is renowned for hosting the best grand slam globally. But it hasn’t always been that way. When premier John Cain moved the Aus Open to Flinders Park, he faced fierce opposition. He turned a public park into a place for a tennis tournament.

However, the move proved a masterstroke transforming not only the championship but Melbourne. 

And like watching tennis – where you are moving your head left and right constantly – sharing files via email was the same. 

Just like tennis balls being lobbed, emails were flying back and forth.

That was until cloud storage transformed how we handle documents.

Which begs the age-old question – who has the latest document?

60% of all global corporate data is stored in the cloud

Between 2015 and 2022, the percentage of worldwide corporate data stored and accessed in the cloud doubled from 30% to 60%. 

OneDrive, Google Drive and Dropbox are popular choices amongst Melbourne businesses. 

But just like your computer’s hard drive, cloud storage can get messy quickly. 

Files get saved in the wrong place. And duplicate folders get created. When employees share the same cloud space, keeping things organised and efficient is hard. 

The thing is, being disorganised with cloud storage causes problems for your business. Time is lost looking for files and decreases employee engagement.

Recent studies found that 50% of office workers spend more time looking for files than they do working.

And when put on the spot, 81% can’t find a file for a client or their boss. 

We have put together these five tips to help your business stay on top of cloud storage to save time and boost productivity.

1. Use a Universal Folder Naming Structure

You probably wondered if Flinders Park was a typo. But when the National Tennis Centre opened in 1988, it was very much located at Flinders Park.

But another premier decided to change the name. 

Melbourne Park. 

And this is a real risk for your business if you don’t have a universal folder naming structure. People will choose what they like. One employee might choose to name a folder by a client name like Barty. Another might use the type of industry, say hospitality. 

This approach only makes it harder for everyone.

And can lead to the creation of duplicate folders for the same thing.

You see, introducing a universal folder naming structure will remove duplication and make it easier to locate files.

For example, map out the hierarchy of folders and how to name each thing. You might have your “departments” as an outer folder and nest “projects” inside.

2. Keep File Structure to 2-3 Folders Deep

Have you ever ended up down a rabbit hole when searching for a file? 

You keep searching folder after folder, clicking through to find the one file.

When too many folders are nested, finding a file can take forever. And it will discourage your employees from saving a file in the right place.

So, keep it simple.

Keep your folder structure only two to three folders deep at most. 

This makes finding files easier and keeps your cloud storage more user-friendly. 

3. Create Folders for more than 10 Files

Naturally, the more folders people have to search, the more time it takes. So don’t create folders with fewer than ten files.

To avoid employees creating folders as they go, have someone on the team act as an administrator. They can also coach and guide coworkers where to store a file correctly.

4. Promote the motto “Take Time to Save It Right.”

When people save files to the wrong place, file storage can quickly become disorganised. We’re all guilty of saving something to the desktop on a PC instead of the correct location.

We tell ourselves that, of course, we’ll go back at some point and move the file to where it should be.

But this method creates headaches for everyone.

When files aren’t where they should be, time is wasted looking for them. 

Promote the motto “take time to save it right” among the team.

This means they should take the time to save the file where it should be – keeping things from getting out of hand. 

And because you are using tip 3, things will be easier with only two or three folders deep.

5. Use Folder Tags or Colours for Easier Identification

Most cloud file systems allow you to use colour tagging on folders – making a folder or group of folders recognisable. 

And reducing the time it takes to find and store files.

For example, you could colour all folders dealing with sales blue. Folders for marketing could be green, and so on. The brain can connect to a topic faster when you look at colour than when reading through the text.

Bonus Tip – Declutter and Archive Regularly

A hot, dry summer’s day in Melbourne can be exhausting. And having to sort through files in your cloud storage can be the same.

The thought of disorganised cloud storage is enough for most people to jump in the Yarra as Jim Courier did after his Australian Open win in 1992.

And even with well-organised file storage finding what you need can still be hard.

That’s why decluttering and archiving older files is essential.

For example, having an admin delete unnecessary files monthly. This should include duplicate files or old draft versions of a document.

You should have an archiving system that puts all older files in one archive folder. And keep files that aren’t actively used from the main file path.

 Is your Cloud Storage provider a partner? 

Sometimes, you need a partner. 

And no, not a doubles tennis partner.

Instead, you need someone to help determine how cloud storage works with your other apps.

To find out more, contact us today and let’s chat.