Storage request quota reached (Enterprise Standard Plan)

[nakkusu]

I subscribed to the Google Workspace Enterprise Standard plan for 5 users back in 2021.

As the leader of a small video production team, our reliance on Google Drive for storing raw footage has significantly increased. Our growing team demands more storage space, and Google Drive serves as our central platform for optimizing media production workflows. The ability to collaborate seamlessly, share files, and access footage from anywhere has immensely improved our productivity. While I have alternative backup options, Google Drive remains the optimal choice for our media production workflows.

Initially, the advertised benefits included "Complete productivity and collaboration, along with 'unlimited' storage featuring enterprise-grade security & management." However, later, this was updated to Workspace Enterprise Storage being "as much as you need" with 5 users or more.

According to the advertised benefits, "Enterprise plan customers have 5 TB of pooled storage per user and can request additional storage if needed." If user need more storage again, user can go ahead and request after 90 days. Google Workspace Support will help user to raise a request and the back end team will assign the storage. However, I recently discovered that my account is no longer eligible for additional storage as I have already made three requests.

Google Workspace Support explained that my account had reached the maximum storage request limit. Two actions were proposed: to purchase additional storage equipment or to add additional personnel to increase storage capacity. This inconsistency between this initial plan and the current restrictions confuses and frustrates me.

I trust Google Workspace's dedication to giving out correct and clear info. You can buy more storage if you want, but I'm looking to get the facts on recent rule changes that affect how much storage Enterprise plan users get. Also, I want to know the top ways to handle storage needs with these new rules in place.

I would like to request that Google Workspace reconsider the recent policy changes or provide more flexible storage options for Enterprise plan users.

Your prompt guidance and clarification on this matter would be greatly appreciated.

[KevinApodaca]

Hi @nakkusu 

I want to address one point that using Google Drive to store raw video might not be the most optimal solution here. Have you explored using dedicated object storage solution such as Google Cloud Storage ?  

[nakkusu]

Hi @KevinApodaca 

Thank you for your response. I appreciate your suggestion to consider Google Cloud Storage as a dedicated object storage solution. However, from my understanding, there are key distinctions between Google Drive and Google Cloud Storage. While Google Drive offers a user-friendly interface for file storage and access, Google Cloud Storage caters more towards application developers who utilize APIs to interact with data.

It appears that with Google Cloud Storage, each user action such as touching, deleting, moving, or retrieving a file incurs a charge. This model, where each operation costs money, may not align with the needs of a small video production team like ours. Isn't Google Cloud Storage primarily intended for developers and may not be tailored to suit the requirements of our team?

Our team requires a platform that allows us to easily browse, manage, and collaborate on raw files. The ability to seamlessly integrate with other Google Workspace tools, such as Google Docs and Google Sheet, is crucial for our workflows. While I understand that Google Cloud Storage offers scalability and flexibility, it seems that the complexity and cost associated with managing operations might not align with our immediate requirements.

I would like to emphasize that our primary concern is finding a reliable and cost-effective solution for our growing storage needs. While I do have other backup media options, such as a NAS server, I find that Google Drive is the optimal choice for optimizing my media production workflows.

I urge Google Workspace to reconsider the recent policy changes or to provide more flexible storage options for Enterprise plan users.

[lucaluca]

Hello @nakkusu 

 I currently Business Starter and want to switch to Enterprise to be able to ask more than my currently allocated 5TB/user.
I am worried about the same issue, I did a chat and support told me that I could request unlimited number of times, but you say differently.
Did you get your problem sorted?
Thanks,

[nakkusu]

Hello @lucaluca 

So sad... I still cannot request additional storage space beyond my current allocation.

If you has successfully request additional space more than 3 times, I'd be very grateful if you could let me know how you did it. 

Thanks,

[lucaluca]

Hi, thanks for your update, it is quite sad to see this. I have couple of question to understand how they granted you the additional space:

1. How much did they allocate as additional space?
2. Was it a different value every time? (i.e "first time 10TB, second time 5TB and third 3TB")
3.  Did you request a specific amount (i.e "I need 10 TB")
4. Did they use some kind of rule to give you the additional space? Giving you the same amount you already pay as extra - i.e "oh you have 10 users at 5B/each so it is 50TB pooled, we grand you an additional 50TB")
5. How does it work, do you have to do a chat with support? or is there a formal place in the admin UI to request this?

Thanks for your help!

[nakkusu]

The policies changing so often, I'm not confident that my understanding of this issue is still current.

You can chat to Google support directly in Admin Console or create support case (ticket) in Support Portal.

As far as I know, the eligibility criteria is :

- Minimum seat count should be 5 users
- Minimum quota usage must be 80.0%
- Maximum quota grants on the account : 3 times
- Minimum waiting period for each request is : 90 days
- Quota per user is 5 TB* (as you mentioned, since you have 10 users, you will get 50TB pooled)

* The policies shift away from unlimited storage had just occurred in my case, allowing me to a specific amount at the first time - an amount that's no longer offered now.

[lucaluca]

Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer to me your answers are very helpful. I am also quite annoyed by the shift away for unlimited storage and the unclear policies.

Have a great day!