*New* Google Shared Drive Storage Allocations

To support the University’s Sustainable Storage program, beginning the week of July 17, 2024, managers of Google Workspace shared drives will begin to see storage allocations of 100GB. No immediate action is required as a result of this change.

If you are a member of a shared drive that currently has more than 100GB of data stored, you still do not need to take any action. All accounts that exceed the allocation as of July 17, 2024 will automatically receive additional storage. Learn more about the Google Storage Allocation changes. 

After the week of July 17, if your shared drive reaches 80% of the 100GB allocation, a warning banner will display at the top of the shared drive. If your drive reaches its limit, you will not be able to edit existing files and will not be able to create or store additional files. 

Manage Your Data

After the week of July 17, 2024, if your Google shared drive reaches 80% of its capacity, you can take the following action:

• Review files and delete those that are no longer needed. 
• Consider the University's policy on Managing University Records and Information and review the data retention schedule. 
• Consider if it is appropriate to move files to different storage services. 
  • Research Data
    • Visit the storage selection tool; consult with your local IT team; or contact the storage experts in the  Research Cyberinfrastructure Champions (RCC) for a consultation to learn about the most appropriate storage service, options include Research Data Storage, D.R.U.M., or MSI, etc.
  • Administrative Data
    • Google shared drives are an appropriate location for most administrative data types. The exception is very large data sets (video and image libraries, for example). 
    • Google shared drives are recommended (instead of Google My Drive) for situations where business continuity is required after a person departs the organization. See Google Drive: Compare Shared Drives to My Drive
    • Google Drive is recommended for those who want to synchronously co-create or co-edit files, be able to use keywords or other filters to search for files, and/or collaborate with people who do not have University Google Workspace accounts.
• Shared Drive managers can request additional storage for a shared drive. After the week of July 17, 2024, if you are a manager of shared drive and you need additional storage capacity, please complete the request form.

Google Storage allocations were determined based on extensive analysis of current Google Workspace usage and are intended to be generous and supportive of University work and studies. 

All members of the University community are encouraged to use digital storage services responsibly. To learn more about file management and to get tips on how to use Google Workspace more effectively, visit the Focus on Files website and sign up to receive monthly emails with invitations to events.