We need a reasonably priced cloud location for about 3.5 TB of photos while migrating network drives to SharePoint Online. The photos are mostly an archive, with occasional JPEG uploads and viewing, but no editing.
Users need to be able to view them in a browser and sign in through Entra SSO. What options should we look at?
Start by checking the SharePoint storage you already have available before ruling it out. Compare the cost of any extra capacity against a separate service, including the work of moving the photos twice if this is genuinely temporary.
SharePoint can provide browser access and Entra sign-in, so it may be the simplest fit even if the storage price looks less appealing on its own. Check the current capacity and pricing for your tenant rather than assuming the whole 3.5 TB needs to be purchased separately.
Object storage is worth pricing for an archive, but don't assume a cheap storage tier gives users a usable photo browser. Azure Blob Storage, for example, can hold the files, but you'll need to check how people will browse, preview and upload them with Entra authentication.
Include retrieval, transactions, data transfer and any application or administration costs in the estimate. A cold tier might look cheap until occasional viewing or moving the files back out is factored in.
I'd also compare a managed cloud file service that supports Entra SSO and browser previews. Get a trial or demo with a representative folder of JPEGs, then test upload, browsing, permissions and sign-in before committing.
Ask for a quote covering 3.5 TB, the expected user count and the likely temporary term. Check minimum commitments and export costs too, since the exit may matter as much as the monthly price.
Before choosing a product, pin down how temporary this is and where the photos go afterward. Also check who needs access, whether folder permissions must be preserved, and whether any retention or discovery rules apply.
If the network drives can remain available safely for the whole transition, leaving the archive there may avoid an extra move. That doesn't meet the cloud requirement, though, so it only works if that requirement is flexible.
Answers are reviewed before publication.
backspace-friendly:
Also check whether users need thumbnails and folder browsing, or just the ability to open a known JPEG in the browser. Those are different requirements for the front end.