ITS provides two options for online storing files and documents to the USC community. This page provides descriptions of these services, information on accessing and using these services, and a comparison of these options so current faculty, staff, and students may determine their best storage option.
Note: Access ends one year post-departure from USC unless an official leave of absence is filed.
Click the links below for information on the online storage services available through ITS:
Comparison of Online Storage Options
This chart provides users with a feature comparison of the various online storage platforms available to the USC community.
| Service Name | Who can use it? | How can I access it? | What can I do with it? | Data Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OneDrive for Business (Office 365) | All USC faculty, staff, and students | Through desktop and mobile applications or through the Outlook Web App (OWA) on any supported desktop or mobile browser. | Share files with other USC Office 365 account holders, students, and anyone with a Microsoft account.
Edit your documents online using Microsoft’s Office Online software. Securely store HIPAA- and FERPA-protected documents. Upload files up to 10 gigabytes in size. Store up to 5 terabytes of documents. Higher limits are available upon request if you are over 4.5TB, max 25TB. These storage limits are subject to change based on the recent announcement from Microsoft. |
USC-provided OneDrive (Microsoft Office 365) accounts are approved for the storage of Confidential Data as stated in the USC Data Classification Standard, including data covered under FERPA regulations. Additional controls may be required, depending on the type of data and relevant regulations. For questions, please contact the TrojanSecure team at TrojanSecure@usc.edu. |
| Google Drive | All USC faculty, staff, and students | Through desktop and mobile applications or through any desktop or mobile web browser. | Google Workspace total storage up to 100 GB .
Share files with colleagues with Google accounts around the world. Edit your Google documents online using Google’s productivity software. Upload files of various sizes and types. See the Files you can store in Google Drive page for more information. Shared Drives are available for appropriate use cases to faculty and staff. They require sponsorship from a UTC department member. Requests for Shared Drives must be submitted by UTC members in ServiceNow. Contact your local department for more information. If you need additional storage, consider Microsoft OneDrive or SharePoint: https://itservices.usc.edu/storage/ Upload files of various sizes. See the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides size limits page for more information. |
USC-provided Google Drive accounts are approved for the storage of public and internal use only data as stated in the USC Data Classification Standard. They are not approved for the storage of HIPAA-regulated data. Additional controls may be required, depending on the type of data and relevant regulations. For questions, please contact the TrojanSecure team at TrojanSecure@usc.edu. |
You must comply with USC policy.
Google Drive
Google Drive is a cloud storage service that allows USC faculty, staff, and students to upload, create, edit, and work collaboratively with others on a variety of documents online. The service comes with Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, a collection of apps for developing documents, spreadsheets, presentations, and other files stored on Google Drive.
Access and Use Instructions
To access your USC Google Drive account from a desktop or mobile browser, log in at www.usc.edu/googledrive.
For information on how to install Google Drive desktop and mobile applications, see itservices.usc.edu/googledrive/apps.
Microsoft OneDrive for Business
OneDrive for Business is an online document storage and sharing tool that USC faculty, staff, and students can access through their ITS-provided Office 365 account. OneDrive for Business files can be shared with other USC Office 365 account holders and external (non-USC Office 365) users. Faculty, staff, and students can use Office Online (Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint) software to work with files in OneDrive for Business.
For more information on OneDrive for Business, see itservivces.usc.edu/onedrive.
Access and Use Instructions
To access your USC OneDrive for Business account from a desktop or mobile browser, log in at www.usc.edu/onedrive.
For information on how to install OneDrive for Business desktop and mobile applications, see itservices.usc.edu/office365/onedrive/apps.
For information on how to use OneDrive for Business, see itservices.usc.edu/office35/onedrive/using.
Getting Help
Please contact the ITS Customer Support Center for assistance using any of these storage options.