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Microsoft Storage Changes: OneDrive, Groups, Teams, Sharepoint, Exchange

Last Updated 7 days ago

Please be aware of ongoing changes to our Microsoft storage. Please see your storage allocation information at https://mycat.ccs.vt.edu/ , then review headings for Shared Libraries and Storage.

Storage Summary assumes A5 license (standard employee)

Shared Libraries: 50GB pooled limit per user (across all employee's shared libraries)
Storage OneDrive: 50GB
Exchange: 50GB (email / Outlook storage)
Archived Exchange: 1.5TB, folders preserved, auto-archive set at 4 years

Timeline for Microsoft changes

Microsoft changes will be going into effect in 2025. Key dates will be added to this timeline as they are finalized. While this timeline is correct to the best of our knowledge, dates are subject to change due to unexpected issues or new information.

Timeline last updated: Mar. 18, 2025

DATE	ACTIONS & EVENTS
Aug. 16, 2024	Departmental approval is required for employees to create new Microsoft Teams sites, SharePoint sites, and groups. Students and retirees can no longer create new Microsoft Teams sites, SharePoint sites, or Groups.
Feb. 7, 2025	Employees can use MyCAT Tool to suggest which of their shared resources (Teams, SharePoint, and Groups) should be kept and claimed by a department.
June 2, 2025	Student and retiree Microsoft storage limits take effect. Unclaimed shared resources (Teams, SharePoint sites, Groups, Viva Engage communities) become read-only. For students, emails 3 years and older will automatically be moved to your Exchange Online archive mailbox.
June 30, 2025	New Organizational Unit (OU) storage plans for employees begin. OUs will assign storage allocations for their employees, which may be at or above the baseline. For employees, emails 4 years and older will automatically be moved to your Exchange Online archive mailbox. Access to shared resources not claimed by a department will be removed for all users.
July 14, 2025	Shared resources not claimed by departments will be deleted.
Sept. 1, 2025	Microsoft’s deadline for storage compliance with the new service model.

Storage allocations

Departments will receive 50 GB pooled storage per A5 license purchased.
Departments may distribute this pooled storage as needed, either
- to support Microsoft shared resources they manage, or
- to increase storage allocations for individual employees within their department.
Departments will be able to purchase additional storage in the Microsoft environment; purchases may be made in 100 GB increments.

Individual M365 storage

Employees will be allocated baseline storage amounts in both Exchange Online and OneDrive, according to the type of Microsoft license they have:

A5 license (this includes most employees): 50 gigabytes (GB) in Exchange Online, and 50 GB in OneDrive
A1 license (less common): 25 GB in Exchange Online, and 5 GB in OneDrive

Individual email and/or OneDrive storage may be increased based on user need. Please contact your department with questions about additional storage.

Employees with an A5 license will have access to 1.5 terabytes (TB) of archive email storage. Emails will automatically archive after four years. Archives do not count against your email storage allocation. Employees with A1 licenses do not have access to an archive mailbox.

Shared M365 resources

Shared Microsoft resources (SharePoint, Teams, Groups, Viva Engage communitites, etc.) are managed by departments. Requests for new sites/groups can be made through the IT Service Catalog.
Your department will work with you to determine which shared resources to keep, or “claim,” and how much storage to allocate to each.
Existing shared resources will need to be claimed by a department by June 2, 2025 in order to remain active.
Unclaimed shared resources (no departmental sponsorship) will be deleted starting July 14, 2025.

https://it.vt.edu/projects/microsoft.html