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Information for Employees

Microsoft storage changes for employees

Beginning in 2025 (see the timeline for details), employees will be allocated storage by their department to use within the Microsoft 365 (M365) environment as follows: 

Individual M365 storage

  • Employees with an A5 license (this includes the majority of employees) will receive 25 gigabytes (GB) of baseline storage for use within Exchange Online and OneDrive.
  • Employees with an A1 license will receive 5 GB baseline storage for use within Exchange Online.
  • Departments may allocate additional individual storage for employees, but may not reduce any employees' storage limit below the baseline.
  • Departments' employee storage plans will be implemented beginning April 21, 2025.

Shared M365 storage

  • Effective Aug. 16, 2024, departmental approval is required to create new SharePoint sites, Teams sites, and Groups. Requests can be made through the IT Service Catalog.
  • Existing shared resources will need to be claimed by a department by June 2, 2025 in order to remain active. 
  • Unclaimed shared resources (no departmental sponsorship) will be deleted starting July 14, 2025.

How do I know what type of Microsoft 365 license I have?

Most Virginia Tech employees have an A5 license, which includes the versions of M365 services outlined here. However, a small number of employees may have an A1 license.

You can view your M365 license type in the MyCAT Tool. Once logged into the tool, scroll down to the "Licenses" tab. Click to open the tab; there, under "Product Name," you will see your license type: M365 A5 or M365 A1

If you have questions about your M365 license, please contact your department's IT professional. 

A detailed list of the apps included within the M365 environment at Virginia Tech can be found in the article Understanding Employees' Google Workspace and Microsoft 365 Services.

Employees can take the following actions to prepare:

  • Check the amount of Microsoft storage you are using by logging into https://mycat.ccs.vt.edu/. Scroll to and open the M365 tab to view your storage in OneDrive and Exchange Online.
  • Work with your department to determine if any cleanup is required for your M365 storage. Storage plans will be decided by your department. Please keep university retention policy requirements in mind if you do decide to remove data.
  • Refer to the timeline for important dates and deadlines.
  • Transfer any personal files to a personal account.

Where to get help

You can find an updated list of support resources and tutorials on this website. Our FAQs also contain more answers about these upcoming service changes.

You may also contact 4Help for individualized assistance.