Three-Year Plan to Reduce Use of Stanford Box

Driven by greatly increased costs for the Box service, University IT (UIT) will take steps to significantly reduce the usage of Stanford Box over the next three years. Importantly, this transition only applies to Stanford Box, not Medicine Box. 

Stanford Box for workgroups to change

Effective May 21, Stanford Box users will no longer be able to create new Stanford Box accounts for workgroups. 

Current Box workgroup folders will not be impacted — you and other workgroup members will still be able to share and access files stored in those folders, and you will continue to manage access from within Workgroup Manager. However, you will no longer be able to link any of your workgroups with a new Box account.  This change:

• will not affect individual Stanford Box accounts, and 
• only applies to Stanford Box, not Medicine Box accounts. 

Options for workgroup file storage

As an alternative to Stanford Box for workgroups, you can use Google Groups for workgroups, which allows you to manage access to a Google Shared drive using Workgroup Manager. Learn how to use workgroup integration to create a Google Shared drive.

The ability to link workgroups with Microsoft OneDrive accounts will soon be available as another option. 

Additional changes coming soon

In the coming months, UIT and CIO Council members will be reaching out to high volume Box users to discuss their existing storage needs and alternative solutions. 

As this project progresses, stay tuned for updates and resources to guide your transition off Stanford Box, including a website and FAQ. 

Get help

If you have questions about the change or need help, please submit a Help request.