FAQs regarding storage:
- What is the quota that I have to get below?
- If you are full-time faculty and staff, you need to drop your Microsoft storage usage below 10GB for Outlook and 10GB for OneDrive. Students will need to drop their usage to 1GB for OneDrive and 1GB for Outlook. Affiliates will receive only 500MB of storage in Outlook and 1GB of storage in OneDrive.
- Will my data be deleted if I’m above the quotas?
- No. WSU will not delete your data if you are above quotas on February 4, 2026. If you are above your quota after February 4, 2026, the ability to send/receive messages in Outlook or add and modify files in OneDrive/Teams will stop until the storage is under quota.
- Can we use external drives and local storage to store our files?
- Yes, you can use external drives, network attached storage devices, and local storage for your data; however, these options should be a last-ditch effort to come under Microsoft storage quotas. External drives and local storage are susceptible to increased risk of data loss and cyber-attacks. If you choose to use these options, please ensure that you have multiple backup copies and that the storage systems meet the requirements of WSU System Data Policies 87.53 and System and Information Integrity 87.40.
- Can I just buy more Microsoft Storage?
- Yes, additional Microsoft storage for Teams will be available to purchase through Information Technology Services (ITS). Currently, Microsoft storage can be purchased in 10TB blocks at a cost of $3,888/10TB/year. Service plans for storage increases in Outlook and OneDrive have yet to be decided by ITS.
- I’ve heard that personal cloud storage is cheaper. Can I just buy my own personal cloud storage and put data there?
- No. WSU data is restricted from being stored in a personal cloud storage medium. Any third-party storage purchase would require a contract agreement with WSU and an Information Security Services risk assessment. Please be sure to follow WSU purchasing requirements for storage and software (WSU Software Purchasing), the WSU System Data Policies 87.53 policy, and the Information Security Services acceptable cloud storage matrix (WSU Cloud Storage Matrix).
- What happens if I do nothing?
- If CAHNRS remains over quota for any user in the area, WSU will charge CAHNRS the cost of additional Microsoft storage in May, 2026.
- What about graduate students?
- Graduate students will likely see the 900MB quotas for both OneDrive and Outlook based on how they are identified in Workday. CAHNRS Operations is reviewing the ability to extend the 100GB “My Drive” personal storage to graduate students.
- Can we just move storage into Teams?
- Teams will also be receiving a quota restriction of 4GB per team. ITS proposed allocated each university area with a set number of Teams, which means that CAHNRS would likely need substantially reduce its number of Teams down from the 2200+ amount we currently utilize. We are still waiting to hear from ITS about our allocation and their service plan.
- Will the process to “My Drive” and the data migration be automatic?
- No, the process to migrate to the CAHNRS Operations “My Drive” will not be automatic; however, user accounts will be pre-enrolled and created upon first login to the service. CAHNRS Operations will be building out documentation for self-help and will be available to assist with data migration.
- Can you tell me how much data is in my department?
- CAHNRS Operations can provide visibility into the amount of storage used in your area across Teams and OneDrive. The data provided to us through WSU is not complete, so data usage reports provide an estimation of utilization.
- Why are we just getting to a solution and data migration now?
- ITS has been working with Microsoft for the past two years to mitigate the storage impact on WSU, while diligently trying to identify centralized solutions for the entire college. For CAHNRS Operations, we’ve anticipated a “worst case scenario” and planned accordingly with investments from the Dean’s Office, the CAHNRS Office of Research, and our equipment reserve funds. Our solution development has been in progress since 2024, and we’ve been able to redesign our storage infrastructure to better serve CAHNRS as we migrate away from Microsoft storage.
Please reach out to us with any other questions you may have by emailing cit.support@wsu.edu.