One Drive storage changes

Over the past few months, IT Services have been working across the University to rethink how we manage cloud storage.

When Microsoft announced the end of unlimited storage for education, it challenged us to look closely at our digital impact, specifically regarding Cost, Carbon, and Compliance.  

Here’s what you need to know about the upcoming changes. 

New storage quotas from 22 June 

  • New accounts will be set to a default of 50 GB (reduced from 5 TB). 
  • For existing staff, your new limit has been individually calculated based on your current usage, plus a generous buffer for your day-to-day work and research. 
  • If you use more than 50, please don't worry, you won't lose access to your files. Your account has already been safely allocated to a higher storage tier that matches your actual usage. 

If your work or research requirements change, you can easily request an additional space via the IT services webpage.

Around 70% of contacted colleagues acted during our recent campaign, removing an incredible 44 terabytes of  data. To put that in perspective, that’s equivalent to roughly 22 million digital books saved (based on a conservative 2MB per book).  

There's still more to do 

While the housekeeping campaign focused on ROT data, a small number of ‘superusers’ hold a disproportionate amount of storage. Our next focus is to determine if OneDrive or alternative solutions better serve their needs. If this affects you, please be assured that this is about finding the right home for the right data, not about deleting things you need. 

Digital housekeeping is a habit: Take 10 minutes to make a difference 

Digital housekeeping isn't a one-and-done task. Please look out for future reminders or take 10 minutes now to maintain your digital footprint: 

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  •  Your storage total only updates once your OneDrive Recycle Bin is cleared (do not empty the ‘Second-stage recycle bin’). 
  • Manage personal files: Move personal photos or non-work documents to a private storage account. 

The response from our community has been genuinely impressive, and it has made a real difference. We will keep you updated as the project progresses. If you have any questions, please visit the IT Services webpage.