Just over a year ago, Microsoft made waves by announcing that its Office 365 Home and Personal subscribers would enjoy unlimited cloud storage through its OneDrive service. However, the tech giant’s recent revelation that it’s putting the brakes on this generous offering has left users surprised and even a bit miffed.
Unintended Consequences of “Unlimited”
In an interesting twist of events, Microsoft disclosed that it wouldn’t be able to follow through on its promise of limitless storage due to a handful of users truly embracing the “unlimited” aspect of the offer. As the company found out, when people are offered an unlimited resource, some will indeed take it at face value and leverage it to the fullest.
Also Read: Microsoft Excel will soon let you run Python scripts as formulas
The backstory to this change is rooted in the fact that some paying customers were using OneDrive to store not just backups of multiple PCs, but also extensive collections of movies and TV shows. This resulted in outliers gobbling up over 75TB of space, a staggering 14,000 times the average usage, leaving Microsoft in a tight spot.
A Downgraded Offering
As a result, the proposed unlimited storage morphed into a cap of 1TB for paid users, reversing the previous stance. Alongside this shift, Microsoft is phasing out its old 100GB and 200GB paid plans, replacing them with a 50GB plan for $1.99 per month. Moreover, free OneDrive storage will take a hit early next year, shrinking from 15GB to 5GB, with the additional blow of the removal of the 15GB camera roll bonus.
Notably, users who’ve already accumulated over 1TB of data will be granted a one-year grace period to adjust their storage levels, after which they will be required to trim down. This echoes the situation for free users with over 5GB of data, who will also have a year to scale down.
Unforeseen Changes Ahead of Announcement
While this announcement may seem abrupt, some paying Office 365 subscribers have reported encountering the 1TB cap over the past few months. This suggests that the change might have been quietly implemented prior to its official declaration.
Also Read: How to use spatial audio on Microsoft Teams
Microsoft’s decision is raising eyebrows. The company’s oversight in not accounting for occasional heavy users when promising “unlimited” storage is a glaring misjudgment, especially given the common challenges faced by all “unlimited” services.
Balancing Act: Promise vs. Practicality
It’s worth noting that cloud backup provider Backblaze offers unlimited backup storage at $5 per month and manages to do so profitably. This stands in stark contrast to Microsoft’s approach, which seemingly struggles with accommodating rare users with exceptionally high data demands. The company’s decision to backtrack on its “unlimited” pledge after the fact raises questions about its planning and viability assessment.
I should note that Microsoft isn’t the only cloud provider to have backtracked on their unlimited storage promise. Google ended unlimited storage for Photos users two years ago, and most recently, Dropbox followed suit by killing off its unlimited storage plan for its business-oriented Advanced option.
Concluding Thoughts: Clear Communication and User-Centric Approach
With these changes, along with the reduced storage offering, users are left pondering whether Microsoft truly wants them to embrace OneDrive as a reliable cloud storage solution. This shift not only impacts OneDrive’s reputation but also casts a shadow over Microsoft’s credibility in delivering its cloud promises.
While the future of OneDrive remains secure within the Microsoft ecosystem, these developments underscore the importance of clear communication, user-centric decision-making, and the need to meet the expectations set by “unlimited” offerings.
