How much does it cost to increase SharePoint storage is a common question for organizations facing storage limitations. This article explores pricing models, factors influencing costs, and strategies to optimize storage usage and potentially reduce expenses.
SharePoint offers a variety of storage plans designed to accommodate different organizational needs and sizes. These plans typically include a base amount of storage, with options to increase capacity as required.
| Plan Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Standard | Intended for smaller organizations, standard SharePoint plans provide a foundational level of storage. These plans are often included in basic Microsoft 365 subscriptions and offer sufficient space for smaller teams and projects. |
| Enterprise | For larger organizations with extensive storage requirements, enterprise SharePoint plans offer significantly more storage capacity. These plans often include additional features and functionalities to support complex workflows and collaboration needs. |
| Add-On | To augment existing storage limits, many SharePoint plans allow for the purchase of additional storage capacity. This option provides flexibility to scale storage as needed without upgrading to a higher plan tier. |
SharePoint storage is typically priced based on different models, each with its own implications for cost calculation.
In this model, storage is allocated based on the number of users within an organization. Each user is assigned a specific storage quota, and the total storage capacity is determined by the number of licensed users.
Organizations opting for capacity-based licensing pay for a predetermined amount of storage, regardless of the number of users. This model offers more flexibility in terms of storage allocation but may result in unused capacity if not managed effectively.
Some SharePoint plans combine elements of both per-user and capacity-based licensing. This hybrid approach provides a balance between user-based allocation and overall storage capacity.
Several factors influence the overall cost of SharePoint storage:
Implementing effective storage management strategies can help control costs and optimize SharePoint utilization:
Deleting unnecessary files and folders is a fundamental step in reclaiming SharePoint storage. Regularly auditing your SharePoint environment to identify and remove unused or outdated content can significantly free up space.
Optimizing file sizes through compression can reduce storage consumption without compromising quality. Compressing images, videos, and other large files can yield substantial storage savings.
Effective management of document versions is crucial to prevent storage bloat. Implementing versioning policies, retaining only essential versions, and regularly reviewing version history can help optimize storage utilization.
Offloading large or infrequently accessed files to other cloud drives can alleviate pressure on SharePoint storage. For example, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive are all great choices. You can download those seldom-used files from SharePoint to the local storage, and then manually re-upload them to the alternative cloud. Or, to save time and energey, you can directly turn to MultCloud, a professional cloud to cloud transfer tool.
Implementing storage quotas for individual users or teams can help control storage consumption and prevent excessive usage. By setting limits, organizations can allocate storage resources more effectively.