Microsoft to Limit Unlimited Storage

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It's official: Microsoft OneDrive will cut unlimited storage to Office 365 Home, Personal or University subscribers...starting NOW.

OneDrive blog

Those unlimited subscribers will be limited to 1TB of OneDrive storage.

And many users are furious.

The comments on the blog describe the problem for many professionals in video and in photography who actually need more space than 1TB. But the bigger problem for Microsft will be other consumers who react more to the sudden change itself, to this "huge back-down."

OneDrive executives explain the change is necessary to curb abuse. A "small number of subscribers" backed up "numerous PCs and stored entire movie colllections and DVR recordings." In some cases, Microsoft notes this was 14,000X the average (or 75 TB for a user).

OneDrive users are not sympathetic...

"If somebody abusing the system then only punish those who abuse the system, don’t penalize everybody. This will just bring more hate to the platform. I thought Microsoft is getting better these days?"

[from the blog commments]

"How can someone abuse the space of a service that was meant to have unlimited storage for them? Did they perform any sort of hack, cheating or reverse engineering to obtain this additional space?

Also what’s with the collective punishment?! I had like 25GB for free, and now MSFT is punishing people like me because of others?! And again: unless there has been some sort of foul play in obtaining storage space, what this people did hardly constitutes abuse.

When I think that MSFT couldn’t do anything else to damage their relationship with their customer base, they pull this kind of stunt out of their hat. BRAVO, MSFT! Another facepalm moment."

[from the blog comments"]

While 1TB will satisfy most consumers and this OneDrive retreat may blow over, what Microsoft is not considering is the additional damage to their credibility and reputation.

And this point is also where Microsoft dealers get hurt.

Microsoft is now signing up users to switch to Windows 10 on an upgrade offer "free until July 29, 2016." Microsoft says after that "you'll have Windows free on that device."

But if, after decades of PC experience, Redmond can't even estimate what consumers will do if given "unlimited storage," how can consumers imagine that Microsoft won't have another sudden change of heart?

And Microsoft also wants users to switch to cloud versions of Office... but cloud services-- far more than boxed software-- depend upon trust to secure a long distance relationship. For examples, customers trust iTunes.

And with BYOD the rule and not the exception...a company's treatment of consumers spills over into small business and even enterprise attitudes.

This lack of trust plays out in a world where Microsoft wants to jump into more hardware... launching laptops to compete with MacBooks... and that's exactly what the OneDrive decision fails to recognize.

Microsoft is the company many customers hate because people feel Microsoft is out for...well, Microsoft. Who can trust a $93 billion company that places its own interests ahead of the customer?

Microsoft appears (by way of its copycat retail tactics) to want the loyalty of a customer base as exemplified with Apple. Right now Microsoft is still trying to play catch up with Apple... and very jealous of those dedicated Apple fanboys/fangirls.

You can't make sudden and dramatic changes without worring your customers. Think if General Motors rolled out a new service and then backed off it in less than a year in an "Oops, we made a mistake and it's your fault" moment.

The public is right: Microsoft made a decision to offer unlimited storage. If a small number abused this offer, Microsoft should have dealt with that small number directly.

You see, by limiting unlimited storage all Microsoft has done is prove that consumer "trust" can be rescinded just as easily.

Go OneDrive Announcement

 

UPDATE: MICROSOFT APOLOGIZES BUT REFUSES TO CHANGE DECISION

SO IT THAT REALLY AN APOLOGY? 72,442 user votes criticizing Microsoft were shut off with the apology. Comments closed, we guess.  The expression"Lump it or leave it" comes to mind.

OneDrive apology