UW-Madison Google Workspace - Reshaping the Google Workspace Service FAQ
We know you'll have questions about the future of the UW-Madison Google Workspace service. We compiled this FAQ to provide answers to what we know so far. We'll update this information as we develop improved guidelines to prepare you for upcoming service changes.
What changes did Google make to its higher education programs?
In February 2021, Google renamed their free edition “G Suite” to “Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals”. Along with the name change came the announcement that this product will no longer offer unlimited storage and will only offer a pooled storage cap of 100 TBs. Additionally, under the free Fundamentals offering, the storage cap must be met by Summer 2022. Google now also offers new paid licensing options called "Google Workspace for Education Plus" which offers more storage per license and does not enforce storage caps until July 2024.
Why did Google make these changes?
View Google’s blog post for more information.
Are storage quotas coming to UW-Madison Google Drive?
Yes. In response to Google's new storage policy for all Google Workspace for Education accounts, schools and universities are modifying their storage offerings to their users. Starting June 1, 2023, a 25GB default quota will be implemented for newly created accounts and all accounts currently using less than 25GB. Additional details about upcoming storage quotas is available on the Reshaping the Google Workspace Service project page.
How much data is currently stored in the UW-Madison Google Workspace Service?
As of December 8, 2022, we are consuming 3.7 petabytes (PB) of storage, with an average growth rate of 1.75 terabytes (TB) per day.
Can UW-Madison sustain the service under this new storage model?
Google states that 100TBs is enough storage for over 100 million docs, 8 million presentations or 400,000 hours of video. If you use Google Workspace for real-time collaboration and sharing of Google’s native files such as Google Docs, Google Sheets or Google Slides, you should not be significantly impacted by forthcoming service changes.
Note: Google Drive should not be used for archival storage of large media libraries, research data sets, system backups, or machine images. See UW-Madison’s Google Workspace Acceptable Use Guidelines for more information.
What if I want to move my data out of Google Drive? Are there alternative storage options?
Yes. View the UW–Madison’s Data Storage Finder to discover additional centralized storage options currently available. Your local IT department may also have specialized resources available to you. Google also provides many resources to help users manage files in Google Drive storage.
How can I see my current storage usage in Google Drive?
Can DoIT help me move my data?
Migration services and developing a campus strategy for alternative storage solutions are out of scope for the project. We are evaluating options and developing documentation to assist users with self-migration. Your local IT department may also have specialized resources available to you.
See UW-Madison Google Workspace - Move files or folders from My Drive to Shared drives
Can I purchase more storage in Google Drive?
No. Purchasing additional TBs of storage from Google separate from what the paid license upgrades provide is not an option at this time.
How will service accounts be affected?
This change will only affect service accounts' storage within Google Workspace. This will NOT impact any other service that your Service Account can access, including email.
See UW-Madison Google Workspace - Service Account My Drive Deactivation Lifecycle
What is the difference between a Service Account and Shared Drive?
A Service Account acts as an entirely separate Google account that multiple people have access to sign in to and access. A Service Account will have its own My Drive.
A Shared Drive is a shared Drive/Folder only, it does not have its own account, although it can own files and folders. Shared Drive is a Google-only service that must have one or more NetIDs as managers, similar to how a service account has one or more linked accounts.
See UW-Madison Google Workspace - Service Account vs Shared Drive