Mark this in the “this is why we can’t have nice things” category. Microsoft has announced that they will be ending their unlimited cloud storage options for Office 365 consumers and will be making changes to the other plans they offer. The change was triggered by cases where some users were taking advantage of the unlimited option by backing up several PCs and entire movie and DVR recording collections. Some users were consuming more than 75 TB of space, which Microsoft says is 14,000 times the average. In their announcement, Microsoft says they decided to focus on the majority of users and their need for “high-value productivity and collaboration experiences” rather than the “extreme backup scenarios” some users were creating.
Users who currently have unlimited OneDrive storage plans will find their access being reduced to 1 TB of available space. Microsoft is giving users who have more than 1 TB currently stored 12 months of continued access to the storage above that 1 TB limit. Microsoft says they will provide a pro-rated refund to subscribers who decide Office 365 no longer meets their needs as a result of this change or other changes.
In addition to the changes at the top end, Microsoft is also eliminating their 100 GB and 200 GB paid plans for new customers and replacing them with a 50 GB plan that will cost $1.99 per month. This new plan will roll out in early 2016. Current customers on these mid-tier plans will be able to keep them. Finally, users who are taking advantage of the free 15 GB OneDrive plans will find their space being reduced to 5 GB starting sometime in early 2016. Users who have more than 5 GB stored will have the same 12 month period of access to their storage as the unlimited plan users.
source: Microsoft OneDrive
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