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Storage Management

Where can I find information about used storage in Microsoft 365?​

SharePoint Online used storage is visible when you open the Active Sites page in the SharePoint Admin center. Available storage and the total storage numbers are displayed here (in TB). When hovering over the info icon next to these numbers, you get the information that the Storage used includes sites and Microsoft 365 containers published by Microsoft.

Archive storage used is displayed separately on the Archived Sites screen, in the upper-right corner. This screen shows archived sites only.

Additional data can be found in Microsoft 365 admin center > Reports > Usage > Storage Tab. Here, the percentage of total storage used is displayed. The info icon next to this number gives more details about the storage usage data refresh: Usage data can take up to 24 hours to refresh. Storage limit increases can take up to 4 days to refresh. Below, storage usage and total storage numbers are displayed (in TB).

What is the difference between Microsoft 365 and Syskit Point when calculating the used SharePoint Online storage space?​

Microsoft​

Microsoft calculates the storage usage as a sum of the following components:

  • Active sites - All non-archived files on active sites
  • Read-only sites - The state of a site that was In-place Archived in Syskit Point

Archive storage used is displayed separately on the Archived Sites screen, in the upper-right corner. This screen shows archived sites only.

warning

Please note!
Please note! Sites in the recycle bin do not count toward the total storage used, and after a site is deleted it can take up to 24-48 hours for the change to update. Microsoft excludes sites archived via M365 Archive from the used storage numbers displayed in the SharePoint admin center.

Syskit Point​

Syskit Point calculates active storage as a sum of the storage used by each site collection. The following are counted toward active storage:

  • Active sites - All non-archived files on active sites
  • Read-only sites - The state of a site that was In-place Archived in Syskit Point

The following are not counted toward active storage:

  • M365 Archived sites - Sites archived via M365 Archive
  • Archived files - Files archived via M365 Archive within a non-archived site
  • Soft deleted sites - Sites in the recycle bin
warning

Please note!
Please note! After a site is deleted, it can take up to 24-48 hours for your active storage numbers to update. When data is archived via M365 Archive, it no longer consumes your tenant's active storage quota. Instead, archived data incurs costs only if your total storage (active and archived) exceeds your licensed quota. Archiving helps reduce overall storage costs by moving inactive data to a lower-cost tier. For more information about billing scenarios, navigate to the following article.

Differences​

The storage used data you see in M365 vs Syskit Point can differ due to the following reasons:

  • Microsoft does not display Microsoft 365 Archive storage as a single number; Syskit Point sums archived files and archived sites and shows that Microsoft 365 Archive storage separately from your active storage
  • Usage data in M365 can take up to 72 hours to refresh
  • Syskit Point sync runs when changes are detected; smaller sites are synced every 24 hours, while larger sites can take up to 7 days to sync
  • When storage versioning limits are used, which automatically clean up storage and thus affect the storage used numbers, Syskit Point sends the cleanup request to the Microsoft API, but cannot define the start or completion time of the action itself; it can take up to 48 hours for all changes to be visible in Syskit Point

Depending on the size of your environment, it takes some time to refresh the data for all sites.

How often is total storage checked and updated/synced by Syskit Point?​

This depends on the size of your environment, as the sync happens gradually.

Smaller sites are synced every 24 hours. With larger sites, the sync can take up to 7 days.

If a site is not yet synced and you want to have the current information instantly, you can manually sync the site from the Site details screen.

Site Storage Limits in Microsoft 365​

For more details about site storage limits in Microsoft 365, please read through the Site Storage Limits article.

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