A few days ago we just revealed that Microsoft has plans to offer unlimited storage space for documents and photos on SkyDrive, and 25 GB for everything else. This is in response to the ever-increasing need for additional cloud storage space given Microsoft’s “all in with the cloud” strategy, with increasing integration and reliance on SkyDrive from various services such as Office, Hotmail, and Windows Phone. While this seemed to satisfy many, there are also many users who would like to use their SkyDrive storage for other purposes, particularly for the storage of music and video files. Unfortunately, these file types seems to fill up your 25 GB of free storage space most easily, resulting users looking for other cloud storage solutions (such as Dropbox) which offers purchasable additional storage spaces.
Well, it seems like Microsoft would like to entice these users to use SkyDrive as their main cloud storage solution too. LiveSide recently learned that Microsoft is planning to offer expandable storage plans for SkyDrive Wave 5. All users will get 25 GB for free on SkyDrive, but if they would like to add additional storage space, they could do so by purchasing one of these SkyDrive storage plans.
No pricing or details for these storage plans had been revealed yet, and we believe Microsoft is still in the process of determining their pricing models. We’re also not so sure whether these expandable storage plans will include Windows Live Mesh’s “SkyDrive synced storage”, even if there are hints suggesting that it might be merged with the main SkyDrive storage in the upcoming updates.
This news is actually consistent with previous comments from Mike Torres, Group Program Manager for SkyDrive Devices and Roaming, who acknowledged that features such as expandable storage is one of the "top asks" for SkyDrive. With the upcoming SkyDrive update, Microsoft will be addressing many “top asks” from users, and we have covered some of these in our previous SkyDrive Wave 5 coverage:
- SkyDrive client apps coming for Windows Phone, Windows, iOS, Mac, and Android
- Windows Live SkyDrive Wave 5 to get devices integration
- SkyDrive Wave 5 to finally support multiple files selection
- Coming soon to SkyDrive Wave 5: Unlimited photos and documents storage
We haven’t yet heard any news about other “top asks” for SkyDrive, including but not limited to features such as developer API support, integration with Windows Explorer, and the ability to map SkyDrive as a network drive. With the BUILD conference starting in less than 48 hours, will we be hearing more news about Windows Live integration within Windows 8? Make sure you stay tuned at LiveSide from Tuesday September 13 at 9am PDT (check your local time zone here) – where Kip will be liveblogging directly from the conference floor at BUILD in Anaheim. See you soon!