Storage Options for Faculty and Staff
Increasingly, we are able to provide both server- and cloud-based storage solutions for our faculty and staff. This ensures that your data is accessible everywhere, and also that if your local computer hardware fails for any reason, you don’t lose any data that is essential to your work.
Wondering which option is best for you? We have created a quick scenario calculator to help you determine the recommended solution appropriate to your needs. To begin, simply click on the Get Started button below.
You may also read the feature list and offering summaries below for more information.
Please note: “NAS1” and “NAS-RU1” are both part of IS&T’s Network File Storage service offering.
SharePoint (Microsoft Office 365)
SharePoint is a web-based collaboration service for groups of all sizes. It offers many tools for groups to share, manage, and use information. Along with OneDrive, SharePoint is the standard document sharing platform used by Microsoft Office, and both are closely integrated with other Office 365 services. SharePoint is HIPAA compliant, and approved for confidential and restricted use data.
BU OneDrive (Microsoft Office 365)
All faculty and staff have access to BU OneDrives. Your BU OneDrive integrates with many other Office 365 services, including Exchange, SharePoint, and Office Online. Your BU OneDrive is HIPAA compliant, and approved for confidential and restricted use data.
BU Dropbox
A BU Dropbox for Business account is best suited for researchers who require storage for very large amounts of data. Files and folders can be shared with anyone with a Dropbox account worldwide. The service has an app that will sync the files and folders you select with your phone or tablet as well as a desktop client that will sync with your laptop or desktop. BU Dropbox (NOT the consumer version of Dropbox) has been approved to store both Confidential and Restricted Data, with the exception of HIPAA data.
BU Google Drive
BU Google Drive provides storage under your BU account. It also allows for quick collaborative document sharing including use of Google Apps (ex. Google Docs/Sheets/Presentations). This is an ideal usage case for faculty use for class projects, since students also have access to the same Google Drive storage system. BU Google Drive (NOT the consumer version of Google Drive) is approved for confidential data and FERPA data (but not restricted/HIPAA data).
Please note, as of January 2024, the following storage allocation caps will be enforced:
Staff members will be allocated with 15GB of Google Drive storage
Faculty members will be allocated with 150GB of Google Drive storage
Additional Google Storage
Additional Google Storage is available for faculty and staff to purchase through IS&T.
Cost
Google storage will be charged at a prorated yearly price amount based upon the following prices based on a July 1st renewal schedule.
| Storage Amount | Annual Cost | Prorated Monthly Cost |
| 1 Terabyte | $150 | $12.50 |
| 2 Terabytes | $300 | $25.00 |
| 5 Terabytes | $750 | $62.50 |
| 10 Terabytes | $1,440 | $120.00 |
The annual cost for additional storage is based on a 12-month period starting from July 1st of each fiscal year.
Additional storage purchased during the year will be prorated to align with the July 1st renewal date.
Ordering Additional Storage
To order additional storage, email ithelp@bu.edu with the subject line: Additional Google Storage. Be sure to include your Google Account or Shared Drive name, and the amount of storage you need.
Upon submission of your service request, you will be contacted by a member of the Systems Operations team via Service Ticket with further details about your purchase of additional storage.
Network File Storage (NAS1 and NAS-RU1)
Network File Storage allows departments to share data with each other and easily retain data if employees leave the University or transition to other roles. Storage is NOT unlimited; it should never be used to store large files or personal data (e.g. music libraries). The main advantage of the Network File Storage is that it allows for granular managed permissions to files and folders with BU usernames and Kerberos passwords. Restricted use data can be stored on Network File Storage, provided that your IT support provider works with you and your department to ensure that the files are restricted.
Storage of Outlook .PST/.OLM files
A .PST is a Windows-based Outlook data archive file (its equivalent in Office 2016 for Mac is .OLM), commonly used to store email messages. This is separate from your BU email kept on the Exchange server. If you have a .pst/.olm archive which you access regularly, you should store it locally on your computer. Since this method posses the greatest risk of data loss we strongly recommend you are actively backing up your data using CrashPlan. Because of the way sync services work in a service like Google Drive or Dropbox, storing .pst/.olm files with these services while actively using them with Outlook is not an option.
If you have archived email to a .pst/.olm file to which you no longer need access, you can leverage any of the above storage options as appropriate for safekeeping.