Future of UO Data Storage: Dropbox and Beyond

Storage unit full of cardboard boxes, symbolizing data storage

Future of UO Data Storage: 
Dropbox and Beyond

Highlights

The UO is extending Dropbox into early 2026. Learn more in the October news story and the timeline below.

Current Storage Options

  • Microsoft
    • OneDrive
    • SharePoint
  • General-purpose UO storage (limited use)
  • Dropbox

Future Storage Options

  • Microsoft
    • OneDrive
    • SharePoint
  • General-purpose UO storage (expanded use)
  • UO storage for research and scholarship
  • Archival (cloud) storage

Data Storage Transition

The University of Oregon is in the midst of a data storage transition.

In the last couple of decades, universities have shifted heavily toward using cloud-based storage services, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, and Box. Information Services currently offers several such tools to all UO students, faculty, and staff: Microsoft OneDrive (launched in 2015), Microsoft SharePoint/Teams (2019), and Dropbox (2020). Information Services and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Innovation jointly fund Dropbox, which we know is especially valued by faculty and researchers.

More recently, cloud vendors have been broadly backing away from their previously unlimited storage offerings — or increasing costs dramatically enough to force universities into limited storage. That's what happened between the UO and Dropbox in March 2024 (see below for details). This trend is actually hitting us later than many other universities.

As Information Services assesses the university's needs and options for data storage, we will use this webpage to share updates with the UO community.

Timeline 2024-2025

  •  

    March 2024

    • New Dropbox contract. To avoid a 70% cost increase, UO signed a new one-year contract with Dropbox that limited us to 1 petabyte of total storage capacity.
    • Sharp increase in usage. Within a week, UO’s Dropbox use increased to nearly 91% of total capacity.
    • Quota announcement. Information Services announced the first-ever Dropbox quota of 100 gigabytes per user to avoid exceeding UO's new overall limit, though without enforcing the quota.
    • Usage reduction. Overall Dropbox usage dropped to more sustainable levels.
  •  

    April–May 2024

    • Needs assessments. Information Services began working directly with UO individuals and teams with high-capacity data storage needs, with the goal of assessing their needs to inform solutions.
    • New cost quote from Dropbox. The UO negotiating team followed up with Dropbox about the possibility of a higher storage limit, such as 2 PB. Dropbox's response was to push for more price increases, even beyond their original proposal.
  •  

    June 2024

    • Grace period continues. Information Services announced that the grace period would continue through the end of the current Dropbox contract (March 2025), barring another unexpected increase in storage usage. That is, the quota will continue to not be enforced.
    • Guidance to stay the course. UO Dropbox users are encouraged to continue using the service in moderation.
  •  

    October 2024

    • UO is extending Dropbox service into early 2026.
      • That’s a one-year extension beyond the current contract.
      • A project team will support the 17-month transition to other data storage options.
      • Details will follow in the coming months about timelines and guidance about storage alternatives. No immediate action is required.
    • Storage alternatives underway. We’re diversifying our data storage offerings to meet UO data storage needs with greater stability and at reasonable costs to the UO community. Cornerstones include:
      • Microsoft OneDrive, SharePoint, and Teams. Already available at no cost to users.
      • UO research data storage. Expected early 2025.
      • General-purpose UO storage. Expanding fall 2024.
      • Archival storage (such as cloud-based Glacier from AWS). Availability TBD.
    • Dropbox use beyond March 2026.
  •  

    November 2024

    • Funding approved. UO President Karl Scholz approves strategic funding for UO research data storage — $35,000 in recurring funds, plus $120,000 in one-time funds.
    • Office hours. Information Services staff have been holding office hours by appointment, working through a backlog of requests. So far, staff have met with several researchers to better understand their needs and workflows.
  •  

    March 2026

    • Contract expiration. UO's contract with Dropbox will end.

More Information

*Emails in March and June 2024 excluded Dropbox users who lacked data in their accounts.

Getting Help

Data Security and Records Management

UO employees are responsible for being aware of the sensitivity of the data they handle, for using approved storage locations that support that policy, and for following other controls associated with different classes of data. The Information Security Office is available to help you identify secure and compliant solutions. (Some UO cybersecurity reference pages require a Duck ID login.)

Before deleting files or other data, or moving them out of UO systems, employees should be aware of their recordkeeping responsibilities as explained in the short video Records and Our Shared Responsibilities from University Records Management.