System Design Specification (SDS)

Looking at the requirements, the best solution would be to use either Microsoft SharePoint or OneDrive.

Both work in a similar way and have sophisticated access controls in place to restrict who has access to the relevant document(s) or folder(s) of documents.

By default, ALL University users have a Microsoft account based on their University credentials.

For anyone making an access request who does not have a Microsoft account, they are easy and free to create.

If a user does not want to authenticate using a Microsoft account then it is still possible to password protect the files directly and share those files via a direct link that is uniquely generated by the SharePoint /OneDrive application.

Both SharePoint and OneDrive are included in the University's, "Microsoft Office" subscription so there is no development or set up cost needed. The solution is scalable, proven, resilient and should not require any internal support contract.