Navigating the Next Era of Google Workspace for Education

The era of unlimited Google storage for no cost is ending. A UIT initiative is now underway to help the Stanford community prepare for some changes beginning in the next calendar year. 

The university is getting ready for the next era of Google Workspace, as it will likely necessitate some changes starting in the next calendar year. To ensure that you are well-prepared, we will keep you informed every step of the way as more details become available. You can expect to see regular updates starting in the first quarter of 2024.

A recap of events

In case you missed it, Google has rebranded GSuite as Google Workspace, bringing together various apps such as Drive, Gmail, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and more under the Google Workspace umbrella.

Along with the new name, Google announced significant changes to its Google Workspace for Education service. The unlimited and free storage allocation previously available to schools and universities that use Google Drive will be phased out. Instead, Google will offer a base amount of storage for a fixed fee with the option of purchasing additional storage.

Adapting the future service

Rest assured, Google Workspace is not going away. The platform will continue to be a preferred collaboration tool, and there will be no need for university-wide data migrations.

While we do not have all the answers quite yet, we are creating a plan to adapt to the new Google Workspace service.

University IT (UIT) has launched the Google Workspace Optimization Project to help facilitate a smooth transition. The project team is actively gathering feedback from high-storage users and other stakeholders. This process will help us ensure decisions are well-informed and reflect the needs of our community as we begin to explore potential solutions that may include:

• Establishing efficient processes for managing My Drive and de-provisioning accounts when individuals leave the university
• Developing policies for shared drives, including guidelines for their creation and use
• Exploring quotas for Workspace accounts, along with alternatives for community members who need additional storage

The road ahead

While you may eventually see quotas on the amount of storage available to you within the Stanford University domain, more than 90% of us won't be impacted by the storage quotas or need to take any action.

Still, with the changes Google is making, along with substantial costs, we must all be conscientious of our storage use. You’re encouraged to check your storage consumption and delete content that’s no longer needed. We’ve published tips and FAQs to help you sort, review, and possibly reduce your data.

Get started today

More information will be shared as we evaluate storage patterns and hear developments from Google. Keep an eye out for communications in the UIT newsletter and on the UIT news site and check the project website for updates.

Submit questions or feedback

We value your thoughts and insights. If you have inquiries or feedback, or would like to get involved in the project, please let us know.