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Alternate Storage Options

Options for File Storage and Collaboration

Google Workspace for Education is the primary collaborative file storage solution for UCSC. It is ideal for sharing, creating and simultaneous editing of documents, spreadsheets, presentations, forms, and more. It allows departments or teams to control their own file access, simplify business continuity and encourage the use of collaborative features.

Google Drive storage is limited, however, and in some cases alternate solutions may be necessary.

When to use / not to use Google

When to use Google
When to use	When not to use
To access and organize your Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Forms into Shared Drives to collaborate with your team members For sharing and editing other kinds of files with limited numbers of collaborators in My Drive and Shared Drives rather than Gmail For business process and documentation to support the educational and administrative activities of the university For project work For automatic integration with campus directory of workgroups and users for easy sharing	To store personal files (including photos) or data not related to your employment or coursework at the university To store large research datasets As a primary data backup repository or for the storage of data that is not intended for regular access and use For non-collaborative data For credit card information (PCI-DSS) For personal Identifiable Information (PII) * For sensitive data such as electronic protected Health Information (ePHI) subject to HIPAA *

* Allowed use with Virtru encryption (Gmail).

Google Drive - Paid Option

For those interested in purchasing 1 TB or more of storage, please email help@ucsc.edu . We are currently evaluating the feasibility of individual storage purchases by departments or groups.

Research Data Storage

Researchers should request a Research and Divisional IT consultation to identify the most appropriate solutions for research computing and data storage. This personalized approach ensures compliance with both internal policies and external regulations. Request a consultation .

File Storage Alternatives

Depending on your storage needs and affiliation, UCSC offers several other storage options to safely store your files. See the information below to help identify the best-fitting solution for your data needs beyond Google.

*More information on additional storage options will be provided soon.

File Storage Alternatives
	Secure File Storage	Cloud Computing Services (Amazon Web Services/AWS)	Yuja	Library Storage Archive	Scholarly Works: eScholarship
Eligibility by Affliation	Staff	Faculty and Staff	Instructors, Grad Students, and TAs	Faculty and Staff	Faculty, Staff, Instructors, and Grad Students
Example Use Cases	To store files and share within departments or groups.	To make a large dataset available for public download, private file sharing with versioning and replication, and storing data files to be shared among multiple servers doing analysis.	For creating, storing, sharing, and managing video content. YuJa also stores and shares recordings made with Lecture Capture and with Zoom.	For accepting hisorical records documenting UCSC activities, functions, decisions, and/or policies and programs (both adopted and rejected), in every format, once they are no longer needed for current use.	For publications, conference proceedings, research data, and scholarly outputs accessible by the public, eScholarship serves as a dedicated repository.
Get Started	Learn more about Secure File Storage.	Request a consultation and check out which options are best for you.	Learn more about YuJa , Lecture Capture , and the YuJa Zoom Connector	Transfer or Donate materials to University Archives.	Submit a form on eScholarship.
Data Classification Level	Standard for P1-P2, Secure for P3-P4, excluding PII and export control	P1, P2, P3, P4	P1, P2, P3, P4
Available Capacity	50GB			89 TB and 69 TB
Pricing	No cost	UCSC has a contract for discounted pricing for AWS storage.	No cost	No cost	No cost