During 2024 Microsoft will be making changes to the terms of Microsoft 365 Education licenses for users worldwide. The changes mean significantly less storage capacity for data, files and recordings stored in Nexus365 (Microsoft 365) for everyone across Oxford University.
What this means for you
From 1 February 2024, users of Nexus365 OneDrive for Business at Oxford (staff, students, researchers etc.) will have their storage capped at 100GB. Most won’t notice a difference as 97% of us are already using less than 100GB of storage.
If you are among the 3% who use significantly more storage, you need to take action to reduce your OneDrive usage by moving documents and data to more appropriate locations and deleting files when they are no longer needed. IT Services will be contacting these individuals and departments directly to provide advice about alternatives for storing files and discuss options for reducing OneDrive for Business usage to below 100GB.
IT Services is also exploring other ways to maximise the capacity of the University’s collective storage allowance in the future. Many options have cost implications which need to be considered carefully and there are no quick fixes at this time.
What you need to do
- If you are contacted by IT Services and asked to reduce your storage in OneDrive for Business, please take action as soon as possible to delete or move your files to the most appropriate place. Although OneDrive for Business is very convenient, other options for storing your data and files in secure, accessible and shareable locations are available - they may even be more appropriate for some of your files, particularly if you need to share them with others.
- Everyone at Oxford needs to do regular housekeeping in the future to avoid storing files unnecessarily. Try scheduling some time each month to review your OneDrive for Business and identify files, or earlier versions of files, that you no longer need to keep. Our short housekeeping guide provides useful tips for keeping your OneDrive tidy and your files secure and accessible to others.
- Remember that your personal OneDrive for Business account disappears when you leave the University. If your colleagues will need on-going access to any of your files, it's important that you ensure they are stored in a shared system such as SharePoint or Teams and not within your personal OneDrive for Business.
Further information and contacts
For information about centrally provided ways to store your files and data, visit the Storing your files page on the IT Help website.
Local solutions (at unit or divisional level) may also be available. If you still aren’t sure which solution might be best for your needs, you can also ask your local IT support staff for help.
