Protect Your Data

As you select a storage option, keep in mind the kind of data you have, and the best way to protect it. Depending on the content, you may need to comply with state and federal laws such as FERPA. 

Read more information about how to Securely Use Cloud Storage Services.

Basic Options

Compare default storage allowances of the free cloud services offered to Cornell students, faculty, and staff.

Box

Box provides current Cornell faculty, staff, students, and affiliates with a simple way to share critical research, collaborate on group assignments, and manage team files, delivering a consistent user experience across campus.

Google Drive

Google Drive is available through Google Workspace (for Students, and for Faculty and Staff) and helps university students, faculty, and staff store, share, sync, and collaborate on their documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files. Google Drive is personal storage where your documents are available only to you, but it's easy to selectively share them with others.

Google Shared Drive

Part of Google Workspace shared drives are not connected to a personal account. Files belong to everyone in the group, and the group members automatically have full rights, including the ability to change or delete them. In order to create a Google Shared Drive you need to fill out this request form.

OneDrive

Microsoft OneDrive is available through Cornell's Office 365 and helps university faculty, students, and staff store, share, sync, and collaborate on their documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files. OneDrive is personal storage where your documents are available only to you, but it's easy to selectively share them with others.

SharePoint

SharePoint is a robust collection of features, one part of which is a document library. SharePoint also includes list apps, intranet features, and much more. Not everyone needs everything a SharePoint site has to offer, but for those who do, one feature it brings is durable group file storage. (If you are not sure about choosing SharePoint or a Team, choose a Team.)  

Teams

Microsoft Teams contains a files section in every channel for a team. It's similar to a shared library, with a few key differences. Because it's inside Teams, a document in this location is ready for quick access, collaboration, and review in Teams. Files are editable by everyone in a team when in a standard channel, or just by the channel members when it's a private channel. 

Options for Research Data

Faculty and researchers should use the Data Storage Finder Tool to find additional services that may best suit your collaboration and storage needs.

Large Scale (over 1TB) Options

Amazon Web Services S3 Faculty and staff public cloud services contracted-for service that individual Cornell units can purchase and use.

Azure Blob Storage Faculty, staff, and student cloud-based contracted-for IT infrastructure services that individual Cornell units can purchase and use.

Shared File Services Storage that enables sharing of files between groups of users and computers.

Faculty and researchers can also use the Data Storage Finder Tool to find additional services that may best suit their collaboration and storage needs.

Comparison Chart

*Retirees should refer to IT Services Available with Your Role at Cornell for information about continued access to some of these storage services.

**If you are the owner/administrator of a group or department folder, contact CIT and request ownership transfer.