Schools commonly suffer from low budgets and a need to store vast amounts of data and video. In order to be competitive, hyperscale cloud providers approach schools with offers for free or reduced cost services for an [unlimited] period of time. In times of budget constraints, free anything sounds like a no-brainer. Who doesn’t like free stuff? 

But hyperscalers provide those free or reduced cost services for a good reason. The “allowances” given out by cloud-providers discourage educational organizations from controlling costs early. This is where hyperscale clouds reach into your wallet and take out all your money.

When the cloud prices go up, the educational organization is firmly entrenched, with few options: Increase next year's budget? Raise fees? Restrict the amounts and types of data the institution stores?

If your organization is taking advantage of “free” or “discounted” services, keep an eye on what the cost “would be”. This will let you know what to expect when time is up and the bill comes due. Don’t assume that there is some magic re-engineering that you can do in the future that will allow you to be more storage efficient. Data grows. You are unlikely to be more efficient in the future than you are now.

If you think that your organization is heading for a cloud budget mess due to impending increases in prices and want to do something about it, consider a multi-cloud approach using Wasabi hot cloud storage. We can help to plan your migration. Wasabi engineers can recommend the best ways to minimize egress frees, avoid disruption, and make the process as smooth as possible.