Before you finalize next year’s cloud budget, here’s what to know about the fees, risks, and blind spots driving higher ed cloud IT costs, and how to avoid them.

Challenges abound for higher ed IT leaders

Higher education institutions are scaling up their use of cloud storage to support everything from research to video production to compliance and backup. But as cloud use expands, so do the hidden costs. In fact, 76% of education IT teams exceeded their cloud storage budget in 2024, according to the 2025 Wasabi Cloud Storage Index. That’s nearly 15% higher than the average across other industries and sectors; clearly the status quo is not working for higher ed IT leaders.

This blog previews key findings from our new eBook, Cloud Econ 101: Deciphering the Cloud Storage Fees That Plague Higher Ed Budgets, and shares five lessons that challenge the way higher ed IT teams think about cloud storage costs.

If you’re planning next year’s budget, evaluating cloud partners, or trying to get a handle on total cost of ownership (TCO), these quick insights will help you avoid costly missteps.

1. The sticker price isn’t the real price

Many cloud providers advertise low per-terabyte pricing but make up the difference with fees. These include charges for every upload (PUT), download (GET), access, preview, lifecycle rule, and restore. In higher education, where users frequently interact with stored data, those microcharges become a major line item. In fact, up to 50% of a cloud storage bill in education is spent on fees—not capacity. As you forecast capacity to plan your budget with hyperscale providers, take your estimated TB volume and double it to stay within budget thanks to the fees that will inevitably balloon your bill.

2. Cold storage tiers cost more than you think

Archival tiers may look appealing on paper, but they aren’t built for the real-world needs of higher ed. Our Cloud Storage Index shows that 89% of education institutions access archived data at least monthly, and 30% said slow retrieval interfered with business operations. Cold tiers may charge you for every access, preview, or search, and tack on delays that slow academic or security workflows.

3. Backup verification can quietly wreck your budget

Weekly or biweekly backup validation is standard practice for ransomware resilience. But popular tools like Veeam, Rubrik, and Commvault perform millions of API calls during those tests—and every one of those calls can trigger a fee. The cost of simply verifying your backups can eat up 15% or more of your monthly cloud storage budget.

4. Surveillance video is a silent TCO killer

Video surveillance is growing on campuses, with longer retention policies and more cameras feeding large video files into cloud storage. Cold storage adds latency, and warm tiers add fees. Each multipart upload, preview, or export may trigger charges. In institutions where campus safety teams access footage frequently, fees add up fast.

5. Procurement complexity multiplies the cost

When individual departments buy their own storage or cloud services, IT loses visibility and leverage. Shadow IT creates data silos, duplicated storage, and unpredictable spend. It also makes it harder to implement security policies or budget accurately. A centralized cloud storage approach offers better cost control, fewer surprises, and stronger compliance.

Want to see how it all adds up?

Download the free eBook Cloud Econ 101 to get the full findings from the 2025 Wasabi Cloud Storage Index, plus practical tips and comparisons to help you optimize spend without sacrificing performance.