2026 Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index

Education Organizations are Losing Budget to Storage Fees, ​Not Data

241 education IT decision-makers across three global regions told our independent analyst team what's really driving cloud storage costs — and it isn't the storage itself. Download the full report to see trends from your peers.​

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Four findings every education IT leader should see​

54%​

of the average cloud storage bill goes to fees — not the storage itself​

90%​

use more than one public cloud provider for storage​

37%​

of education AI projects deliver positive ROI today​

89%​

say addressing 'dark data' is a strategic priority​

WHY EDUCATION IS DIFFERENT​

Tight budgets. Massive data volumes.​

Hidden fees that compound both problems.

Education institutions store enormous amounts of data — research archives, lecture recordings, student records, compliance documents. Storage capacity needs are real and growing.​

At the same time, budget constraints in education are tighter than in most sectors. Hidden cloud storage fees hit hard, and overruns aren't easy to absorb. Over 40% of respondents reported exceeding their cloud storage budgets in 2025.​

41%

of education organizations exceeded their cloud storage budget in 2025​

62%

rely on hybrid storage deployments (a mix of on premises and cloud) to support their AI workflows

67%

of AI budgets go to infrastructure, including data, storage, and compute

WHAT THE REPORT COVERS​

Demystifying education cloud storage costs​

Decisions ultimately come down to ‘Can we afford it?

– Infrastructure/network manager, UK education sector respondent​

GET THE FULL REPORT​

See where education cloud storage budgets are going​

The full report, 2026 Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index Education Executive Summary, adds depth to these findings with charts, year-over-year comparisons, and direct quotes from education IT decision-makers across the globe.​

​WHAT YOU'LL GET​

  • Deep-dive data and context for all findings

  • Year-over-year fee proportion comparisons​

  • Education-specific insights to plan your budget​

  • Direct quotes from peer leaders across North America, EMEA, and APAC​

  • Independent analyst research methodology

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