About changes to storage in Google at IU

On this page:

Critical updates planned for Google services in 2022
Google Drive and other core services are not going away
About migrating data from Google
Options for use of Google Shared Drives
Dashboard for IT Pros

Critical updates planned for Google services in 2022

New storage limits

Note:

This page will continue to be updated as more information becomes available.

For more than a decade, Google offered the full suite of services at no cost to higher education universities; however, Google has announced placement of caps on storage use, at 30% of the current total data stored in the IU Google instance. As a result, the university must limit the total storage footprint used by all IU services in Google systems to avoid drastically increased costs.

Apps, services, and features that contribute to our overall usage include:

Google Drive and Google Photos for individuals
Google Shared Drives for institutional storage
Gmail at IU for students

The allotment for your individual Google at IU files will be 5 GB.

85-90% of students, faculty, and staff will not be affected by this limit.

Note:

IU YouTube channels are not affected by these changes.

If you go over the limit

If your Google at IU account is over 5 GB for files that you own, you will be notified. If you remain over the limit, your account will eventually be made read-only, and you will be unable to edit or add files to it. These restrictions will be lifted once you reduce your storage so that it's the under 5 GB limit.

About shared files

Files shared with you don't count against your limit; they are attributed to the file owner.

See how much space you're using

To view your total Google at IU usage, go to https://drive.google.com/settings/storage. Be sure you are logged into your Google at IU account, and not a personal Google account. To be sure, you could use a private browser.

Timeline

The deadline for reducing your storage is yet to be determined, but will be no later than December 31, 2022. UITS recommends that you start working now to get and stay under the limit, to avoid read-only status.

Google Drive and other core services are not going away

Google at IU will remain available to you as long as your account remains under the limit. You will still have access to Google My Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Slides, Google Meet, Google Chat, Jamboard, Chromebook management, and the majority of services Google offers.

About migrating data from Google

For details, see Migration options for Google at IU My Drive data.

Migration tool for personal data

Learn how you might migrate your personal Google at IU My Drive files to Microsoft OneDrive at IU.

The tool will convert Google file formats to their counterparts in the Microsoft Office suite:

Google Docs to Microsoft Word
Google Sheets to Microsoft Excel workbooks
Google Slides to Microsoft PowerPoint slide decks

Data classification for storage in Google Shared Drives and Google My Drive

Google Shared Drives were approved for higher data classification levels than Google My Drive in some data domains. In addition, Google Shared Drives were an appropriate location for institutional data, but Google My Drive is not.

See IU Data Management for more on data privacy, security, and storage.

Large files

Files larger than 250 GB cannot be stored in Microsoft Teams/SharePoint Online. UITS encourages you to work with your IT Pro to investigate migration options for such files.

Microsoft options for institutional data

Within enterprise IU IT services, Microsoft Teams at IU/SharePoint Online is the option for institutional files.

Get help determining whether your data is personal or institutional.

Important:

Personal Google Drive accounts, as well as personal accounts in other platforms and services, are not appropriate for storing IU data. Files stored in your Google at IU space that are not personal in nature must remain in a storage platform appropriate for IU data.

Microsoft pricing

All major vendors offer cloud storage as a significant component of their service offerings, and the industry as a whole has shifted toward monetizing storage rather than offering it as a free component associated with other services.

Microsoft is not an exception to this trend. However, while Microsoft is charging significantly for storage, IU has much more space than is being used. The university's existing investment in other Microsoft products also makes this sustainable.

Options for use of Google Shared Drives

If your Google at IU My Drive contains institutional data, before you migrate, consider how you'd like to handle your institutional data to ensure that it's stored appropriately. Work with your IT Pro for creation of a new Google Shared Drive for one of these scenarios:

Transitional step for moving institutional data to Microsoft Teams as the final destination
Paid option for departments to keep institutional data in Google Shared Drives

For more, see Migration options for Google at IU My Drive data.

Dashboard for IT Pros

IT Pros can view a dashboard showing individual accounts using more than 5 GB of storage, as well as Google Shared Drives usage information.

If you are an IT Pro and can't access the dashboard, contact IT Community Partnerships by emailing talk2uits@iu.edu.