Computer & IT
Document Archive Storage Calculator
Forecast current and future document-archive capacity from daily ingest, retention, compression, copies, monthly growth, and a blended access-cost allowance.
Current retained raw data-
Current stored data after compression and replicas-
Daily raw volume at forecast end-
Forecast retained raw data-
Forecast stored data after compression and replicas-
Current storage cost per month-
Forecast storage cost per month-
Forecast storage, access, and egress cost-
Annualized forecast run rate-
Stored-capacity growth through horizon-
Decision view
Source documents, renditions, and archive cabinets
Source documents, renditions, and archive cabinetsDaily files and their derived copies enter ordinary and held archive shelves before forecast capacity and cost are calculated.
Document Archive Storage monthly costForecast month is horizontal and modeled storage, access, and egress cost is vertical.
Exact scenario comparisonRetention period (days) changes while all other entered assumptions remain constant.
| Retention period (days) | Current retained raw data | Current stored data after compression and replicas | Daily raw volume at forecast end | Forecast retained raw data | Forecast stored data after compression and replicas | Current storage cost per month | Forecast storage cost per month | Forecast storage, access, and egress cost | Annualized forecast run rate | Stored-capacity growth through horizon |
|---|
Period-by-period detail
document archive monthly capacity and cost forecast
How to use Document Archive Storage Calculator
- Measure daily archive growth including OCR and renditions.
- Set the effective retention period and billable stored copies.
- Compare forecast capacity and cost with legal holds, export needs, and lifecycle tiers.
Calculator guide
Understanding Document Archive Storage Calculator
Document archives grow from source files, scanned images, renditions, indexes, retained versions, and replicated copies.
Calculation method
How the calculation works
Translate daily document archive creation into retained raw volume, apply compression and replica count, project monthly growth, and reconcile current and forecast storage capacity and run-rate cost. Daily raw GB times retention days creates the retained logical archive; compression and copies determine stored capacity, then monthly ingest growth projects the future footprint.
Records shelf
File source documents, renditions, and held records separately
The archive cabinet visual separates incoming files, derived copies, ordinary shelves, held shelves, and future stored capacity.
Worked situations
Practical examples
- Scanned image PDFs may compress differently from born-digital files.
- Version retention can multiply logical document volume.
- Legal holds can extend the effective retention period beyond ordinary policy.
Better inputs
Useful tips
- Separate active collaboration storage from immutable records storage.
- Track index and OCR layers explicitly when they are material.
- Use a separate scenario for deep archive with different retrieval pricing.
Before relying on the result
Limitations and common mistakes
- One compression ratio, retention period, and storage price are used.
- Legal holds, version trees, OCR compute, and per-document transactions are simplified.
- Records policy must be defined independently.
Reference
Key terms
- Archive ingest
- New document data entering storage each day.
- Rendition
- Preview, OCR, or transformed copy derived from a source document.
- Legal hold
- Preservation rule that can suspend ordinary deletion.
Important note
Calculated from the entered technical values using the displayed model. Validate topology, workloads, capacity, security, redundancy, and observed performance before implementation.
Frequently asked questions
Should active SharePoint or drive files be included?
Only when they are part of the same billed archive estate.
How should legal hold be modeled?
Use a longer effective retention or a separate held-record scenario.
Does this include OCR cost?
Only if included in the monthly access and egress allowance.