Microsoft boosts Office 365 cloud storage to one terabyte

Microsoft has announce a major boost to its cloud storage services that will see Office 365 customers gain access to one terabyte of storage, along with quota increases for basic accounts.

The upgrade will mean the tech giant’s OneDrive cloud storage service will come with a basic storage limit of 15 gigabytes, up from 7 gigabytes previously. 

Meanwhile, customers of Office 365 Personal ($9 per month) and University accounts ($99 for four years) will be upgraded to one terabyte each, while Office 365 Home ($12 per year) will be boosted to one terabyte per person, up to five people.

The news follows a similar announcement in early April that saw OneDrive for Business and Office 365 ProPlus accounts given 1 terabyte of storage per user.

The tech giant has also cut prices for additional storage, with the price for 100 gigabytes dropping from $8.99 to $2 per month, and the price for 200 gigabytes falling from $13.99 to $4 per month.

OneDrive will also continue giving users who refer friends will continue to receive up to 5 gigabytes (in 500 megabyte increments) for each friend who accepts an invitation, as well as an additional 3 gigabytes for using the camera backup feature.

The upgrade follows a string of OneDrive-related announcements from the tech giant’s new chief executive, Satya Nadella, who is repositioning the company with a  focus on cloud-services and mobile devices.

In a statement, Microsoft Australia Senior Product Marketing Manager Mel Dewick said three-quarters of users have less than 15 gigabytes worth of files on their computers.

“Since OneDrive launched, the amount of data our customers are uploading to OneDrive has been growing in leaps and bounds,” said Dewick.

“We think that photos and files are better in the cloud, allowing people to store, sync and share that content from any device.”