Google@UH Add-on Storage

Information Technology Services (ITS) has established a program to provide add-on storage for Google@UH (Google Drive, Gmail) for a fee. This add-on storage is in addition to the allotted storage quotas provided to all Google@UH accounts. Active UH faculty and staff may participate in this program and purchase add-on storage via UH Departmental payment. Purchases through this program can be made ONLY by UH Departmental payments.

Add-on storage provides the user with the “right to use” a specific allocation of additional storage for Google@UH on an annual basis for the duration of the purchase term. Purchase term to begin on February 1 and end on January 31 of the following year. Add-on storage purchased after the start of any purchase term will be prorated to the month of purchase. For example, add-on storage purchased in April will be charged 10/12ths of the total annual cost.

ITS will be absorbing add-on storage costs for a portion of the inaugural purchase term from February 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. Add-on storage requests received and processed prior to June 30, 2024 will be charged only for the remainder of the purchase term from July 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025.

Add-on storage will be renewed and charged automatically for each new purchase term unless or until canceled. Renewal notifications will be sent to the purchaser and/or designated departmental contact person via email prior to a new purchase term beginning.

Add-on Storage Annual Pricing

Add-on storage is offered in discrete storage tiers providing a specific storage allotment for Google Shared Drives or Google@UH accounts. Add-on storage tiers are offered as outlined below and cannot be combined or divided.

Add-on Storage Tier Annual Cost
100 GB $17
250 GB $42
500 GB $84
750 GB $126
1 TB $168
2 TB $336
3 TB $504
5 TB $840
10 TB $1680
15 TB $2520

Note: 1 TB = 1000 GB. 1 GB = 1000 MB.

Note, ITS will be absorbing add-on storage costs for a portion of the inagural purchase term from February 1, 2024 through June 30, 2024. Add-on storage requests received and processed prior to June 30, 2024 will be charged only for the remainder of the purchase term from July 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025.

Add-on Storage Allotment

Add-on storage for Google@UH will be provided to a Google Shared Drive OR to a single Google@UH account. Purchasers can decide how add-on storage will be provided.
 
  Google Shared Drive Google@UH Account
Convenient collaboration between many users Y N
Add-on storage can be shared by collaborators/project members Y N
Add-on storage can be used for files within Google Drive Y Y
Add-on storage can be used for emails within Gmail N Y
 

Google Shared Drive

If this method is selected, Add-on storage will be provided to an existing Google Shared Drive of the purchaser’s choice. If the purchaser does not specify an existing Google Shared Drive, a new Google Shared Drive will be created and provided to them. Access to the Google Shared Drive will be managed by the purchaser (or their designee), and they can specify any number of other UH users who should be able to access, contribute to, or manage files within the Google Shared Drive.
 
Add-on storage provided to a Google Shared Drive is desirable if collaborating with other users, if working on a project, or if a department wants to provide additional space for many faculty/staff across the department. Add-on storage provided to a Google Shared Drive can be used to store files and documents but will not increase the storage capacity available to store email within any account's Google@UH Gmail. Due to the flexibility provided by Google Shared Drives, ITS recommends purchasers opt to provide add-on storage to Google Shared Drives if email storage is not required.
 
A shared drive can contain a maximum of 400,000 items, including files, folders, and shortcuts. Note: This limit is based on item count, not storage use. We recommend that you keep shared drives well below the strict limit. Shared drives with too many files might be difficult to organize and search, or members ignore much of the content.

Google@UH Account

If this method is selected, Add-on storage will be provided to a single Google@UH account (individual faculty/staff UH Username or Departmental UH Username) specified by the purchaser. Add-on storage provided to a Google@UH account is desirable if there is a need to store emails that an account’s allotted storage quota would otherwise not allow.
 

Purchasing Instructions

To purchase Google@UH Add-on storage, complete and submit the Google@UH Add-on Storage Request form at https://go.hawaii.edu/yUP. The request form is only available to UH Faculty and Staff. One request should be submitted for each Google Shared Drive and/or Google@UH Account that you would like to purchase add-on storage for.

Once submitted, your request will first be routed to your departmental approver for authorization and agreement of the automatic annual charge-back for this service. Your request will then be routed to your Fiscal Administrator, who will need to authorize the request and submit a proper account code that can be used for the automatic annual charge. ITS will contact you once your request has been processed. Please allow for 2-3 business days for processing. If you have any questions or need assistance completing the request form, please contact the ITS Help Desk.

Changing or Canceling Add-on Storage

Users may opt to upgrade to a larger add-on storage tier at any time and will be charged the prorated difference between tiers.
 
Users may opt to downgrade to a smaller add-on storage tier or cancel their add-on storage. Users who wish to downgrade may only do so if their existing storage usage does not exceed their desired storage tier. Users who wish to cancel may only do so if their existing storage usage does not exceed their allotted storage quota. Downgrading or canceling add-on storage will take effect at the start of the next purchase term.
 
If you'd like to change your add-on storage tier or cancel your add-on storage, please contact the ITS Help Desk.
 

Add-on Storage Terms of Use

Use of Add-on Storage is subject to existing Google@UH terms and should be used only for storing institutional data. By using Google@UH and purchasing Add-on Storage, users agree to abide by UH Executive Policy E2.210 (Use and Management of Information Technology Resources), Hawaii Revised Statutes Chapter 708, and all applicable policies and regulations.
 
Please be aware that Google@UH Add-on storage is not available for purchase using personal funds and is not available for purchase by students. Faculty and staff may sponsor add-on storage for student use by purchasing add-on storage for a Google Shared Drive and inviting students as collaborators.
 

Compare Google@UH Add-on Storage to Other Storage Options

Before purchasing, please consider the type of data you are planning to store and whether or not Google@UH Add-on Storage is appropriate for your storage use case. Consider the following:
  • Google Drive is NOT an appropriate repository for sensitive or regulated data as defined in UH Executive Policy 2.214 (UH Institutional Data Classification Categories). ITS recommends using our UH Enterprise Dropbox service if your needs involve storing sensitive or regulated data.
  • Google Drive may not be appropriate for storing research data, especially if compute or special data protections are required. Consider Koa Research Storage for your research data storage needs.
  Google@UH Drive UH Enterprise Dropbox Koa Research Storage
Appropriate for general document storage (documents NOT containing sensitive or regulated data) Y N N
Appropriate for documents containing sensitive or regulated data (including PII, FERPA, and/or HIPAA data) N Y N
Appropriate for research data (UH Protected data cannot be stored in Koa) N N Y
Appropriate for academic data Y N N
Supports sharing and collaboration Y Y Y
Supports real-time/collaborative editing of popular file formats (.docx, .xlsx, .pptx, etc.) and cloud-native formats (Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms) Y Y N
Appropriate for audio, video, and other media Y N N
Integrates with Google Workspace Apps (Gmail, Calendar, Meet) Y N N

 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Can I request Google@UH Add-on Storage for a Departmental UH Username?

Yes, add-on storage can be requested for a Departmental UH Username.

Can students request Google@UH Add-on Storage?

No, only UH faculty and staff can request Google@UH Add-on Storage. However, faculty and staff may sponsor add-on storage for student use by purchasing add-on storage for a Google Shared Drive and inviting students as collaborators to the Shared Drive. For more information on adding members to a Shared Drive or on changing existing members' access to a Shared Drive, please reference Google's support article on the topic.

Can I purchase Google@UH Add-on Storage with personal funds?

No. Google@UH Add-on Storage can only be purchased with departmental funds.

Can my department purchase Google@UH Add-on Storage via IDO, check, or pcard?

No. Google@UH Add-on Storage can only be charged to a departmental account. You will need to provide the name of your Fiscal Administrator (FA) when submitting a request for Google@UH Add-on Storage and your request will be routed to your FA who can provide information on the departmental account that should be charged.

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Article ID: 1900
Created: Mon, 20 Nov 2023 10:07pm
Modified: Thu, 01 Feb 2024 8:50am