Why is cloud storage pricing rising right now , and when does it stop?
AI infrastructure is pulling manufacturing capacity from flash storage to high-bandwidth memory, spiking prices with no end in sight before 2028.
Enterprise storage costs are climbing fast. For MSPs, that means unit storage costs keep rising while customer contracts stay locked at last year’s pricing. ThinkOn’s long-term supply agreements hold our storage pricing in place regardless of what’s happening in the broader market, so you can partner with a cloud provider that isn’t exposed to the same price spikes your storage vendor is.
A changing cloud storage market calls for a different cloud partner
When vendors can sell direct, when storage costs can rise under contracts you’ve already signed or when licensing changes can limit how you deliver VMware, you’re left with less control over margins and customer relationships.
The answer is ThinkOn, a channel-only cloud infrastructure provider that never sells direct, with locked-in wholesale storage costs through long-term supply agreements that give your team a market advantage. You keep the customer relationship while getting the tools, infrastructure and support to grow your business, including:
Deal registration
Partner portal
Predictable storage
Protected margins
How does ThinkOn keep cloud storage pricing predictable, even as storage costs rise?
ThinkOn’s cloud storage pricing stays locked through long-term wholesale supply agreements — your costs in 2028 will be the same as they are today.
Not all of your data behaves the same way, and a storage platform shouldn’t treat it like it does either. Hot, warm and cold tiers let you match storage to how data is used, keeping frequently accessed data fast while making long-term retention more affordable.
With all three tiers on S3 compatible object storage, you can move data between them without re-architecting. There are no egress fees, special request charges or early-deletion charges, all supported by locked-in costs
Look at how your current provider structures their cloud storage pricing, whether those costs are predictable and what additional charges apply when you move, restore or delete data. A cloud partner that offers tiered storage and no egress fees with zero fluctuation in costs can give you more control over the infrastructure costs behind your services and protect your margin.
See how ThinkOn’s tiered object storage and no egress fees help MSPs keep cloud storage pricing predictable as customer data grows.
A cloud storage pricing comparison: ThinkOn’s market advantage
Competitor rates are rising to $7.99/TB, while ThinkOn Warm Object Storage remains fixed at $6.99/TB with no hidden fees.
Conducting a thorough cloud storage pricing comparison reveals why organizations are shifting away from unpredictable vendor models. While major market players and competitors have raised their baseline pay-as-you-go rates to $7.99/TB, ThinkOn maintains a stable, predictable $6.99/TB flat rate.
| ThinkOn Warm Object Storage vs. Increasing market competition | ||
| Feature/metric | ThinkOn Object Storage | Current Industry Standard |
| Price per Terabyte | $6.99 / TB | $7.99 / TB |
| Price Stability | Fixed rate with term discount options | Subject to rate increases |
| Minimum Storage Duration Fees | None (Pay strictly for what you consume) | Frequently subject to minimum storage duration fees |
| Immutability Features | Included at no extra cost (Object Lock, Versioning, WORM) | Frequently charged as optional or add-on tiers |
| S3 Compatibility | Native S3 compatibility; 200+ validated enterprise solutions | Standard S3 ecosystem |
| SLA & Protection | 99.9% uptime SLA with end-to-end encryption at rest & in transit | Standard industry commitments |
| Capacity Commitment Terms | 12 to 60-month reserved capacity (billed monthly) | Standard commitment tiers |
How do egress fees affect cloud storage pricing, and what does ThinkOn do differently?
Many hyperscale cloud providers charge egress fees for restores and migrations; ThinkOn charges none, helping MSPs avoid unexpected data-transfer costs.
Egress fees can turn a routine restore, recovery or customer migration into an unexpected cost for an MSP. Some cloud providers charge for moving data out of their environment, making it harder to build predictable cloud pricing into your managed services. ThinkOn does not charge egress fees for moving data out of our cloud, including restores and migrations, so MSPs can build services without passing unpredictable transfer costs on to customers.
How can MSPs build compliance ready cloud infrastructure for regulated customers with ThinkOn?
Build compliance ready cloud infrastructure with secure cloud, backup and disaster recovery services supporting regulated workloads, data protection requirements and security frameworks.
Different sectors have different requirements for security, compliance, resilience and data availability. The table below shows how MSPs can apply these services to deliver specific customer outcomes, with ThinkOn providing the underlying infrastructure and support.
What you deliver, backed by ThinkOn
Compliance and continuity through secure cloud, data protection and 24/7 support for regulated workloads.
What you deliver, backed by ThinkOn
Protected, available patient data with backup and disaster recovery to help keep critical systems running.
What you deliver, backed by ThinkOn
Confidential and recoverable client data through secure cloud, backup and disaster recovery aligned with retention requirements.
What you deliver, backed by ThinkOn
Secure, reliable cloud services that support strict security, compliance and data residency requirements.
What you deliver, backed by ThinkOn
Resilient infrastructure and secure backup that help keep operations and remote sites running.
Guarantee total data residency at rest and in transit with ThinkOn
ThinkOn protects data at rest and in transit, with defined data residency and encryption to help ensure your data stays where you expect.
At ThinkOn we know that two questions decide whether your data is actually protected: what happens to it at rest, and what happens to it in transit. At rest, your data is encrypted and held in a facility you can name. In transit, it stays encrypted everywhere it moves. Residency is the geographic half of that answer, the specific country, region, or facility where your data physically sits and the assurance that it stays there. Without that assurance, “U.S.-based” can still mean your data is replicated, backed up, or processed elsewhere without your knowledge.
Ask any provider to answer both halves in writing: where the data rests, how it is protected in transit, and what would have to happen for either to change. A provider that can only answer one half is only answering half the question.
Review ThinkOn’s security certifications and compliance standards to understand the controls supporting the infrastructure you deliver to regulated customers.
How does ThinkOn’s channel partner program compare with a direct hyperscaler program?
ThinkOn’s channel-only partner program protects MSP margins, customer ownership and pricing control, while hyperscaler programs can introduce direct competition and variable costs.
The infrastructure may look similar, but the partner model behind it can be very different. Hyperscalers typically operate through broad reseller programmes, while a channel-only partner like ThinkOn is built around the MSP relationship.
ThinkOn was built as channel-only deliberate model, and for an MSP it shows up in five places:
| What matters to an MSP | Typical hyperscaler resale/reseller program | ThinkOn channel-only partner program |
| Margins that hold | Compressed resale margins on hyperscaler capacity | Double-digit margins on cloud services |
| Your account stays yours | Provider may sell directly to your customers | MSP has full ownership of the client relationship because ThinkOn never sells direct |
| Sell on your terms | Programme structure and tiers can influence what and how you sell | Freedom to sell what you want, to whom you want, without a prescribed service mix |
| A back office, not just a price sheet | Partner resources vary by programme and tier | Partner Portal with deal registration, training and support |
| No surprise invoices | Usage-based pricing and egress charges can add variable costs | Predictable pricing with no egress charges |
Ready to build a channel partner program with a cloud partner that protects your margin?
Explore the ThinkOn partner program — channel-only, deal-protected, and built so we never compete for your customer.
Glossary
| Term | Definition |
| Managed service provider (MSP) | A company that runs manages and protects your IT proactively, as an ongoing service. |
| IaaS / PaaS | Cloud infrastructure and platform services an MSP configures and manages on behalf of a customer.for you. |
| DRaaS | Disaster Recovery as a Service — cloud-based failover and recovery of full systems. |
| BaaS | Backup as a Service — data backup delivered from the cloud on a subscription. |
| Managed detection & response (MDR) | 24/7 threat monitoring, detection, and response delivered as a service. |
| Uptime / SLA | The percentage of time systems are available, and the service level guaranteeing it. |
| Channel-only provider | A vendor that sells exclusively through MSP/reseller partners rather than a vendor who might sometimes sell through a partner but often takes deals directly. |
| Wholesale pricing | Fixed, partner-level pricing a vendor holds for an MSP to build its own client pricing on top of. |
| Deal registration / PRM | A partner-portal process that protects an MSP’s lead and margin on an opportunity it brings to a vendor. |
| VCSP (VMware Cloud Service Provider) | A provider authorized to host and resell VMware-based cloud infrastructure under Broadcom’s partner program. |
| Egress fees | Charges a cloud vendor bills for moving data out of its platform, often triggered by a restore or migration. |
| SOC 2 Type 2 | An audited attestation that a provider’s security controls operate effectively over a period of time, not just on paper. |
| Business Associate Agreement (BAA) | A contract required under HIPAA between a covered entity and any vendor that handles protected health information on its behalf. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What should MSPs look for in a cloud infrastructure provider?
MSPs should look for predictable pricing, scalable infrastructure, no egress fees, strong margins, customer ownership, channel support and reliable technical service.
How can MSPs make cloud pricing more predictable?
MSPs can make cloud pricing more predictable with transparent billing, stable infrastructure costs, no egress fees and pricing models that support consistent managed service margins.
How can MSPs reduce storage costs without changing their managed services?
MSPs can reduce storage costs by using tiered storage, matching data to appropriate performance levels and choosing providers without egress or access fees.
How does cloud storage vary between providers for an MSP?
Cloud storage varies by capacity, performance, redundancy, data transfer, operations, retention and additional fees for accessing or moving data.
How do egress charges impact cloud service costs for MSPs?
Egress charges increase cloud pricing when data moves out of a provider, particularly during backups, restores, migrations or high-volume transfers.
How can I identify the most successful channel partner programs for my MSP business?
Look for channel-only programs that protect customer relationships, provide account ownership, offer predictable billing, protect margins and prevent vendor competition.
How can MSPs support total HIPAA compliance for healthcare customers?
Total HIPAA compliance requires infrastructure controls, security documentation and a signed BAA where applicable to support regulated healthcare workloads.
What should MSPs look for in FINRA compliant cloud storage?
FINRA compliant cloud storage should provide encryption, access controls, audit logging, retention controls, infrastructure security and documented compliance evidence.
How can MSPs protect customer ownership when choosing a cloud partner?
MSPs can protect customer ownership by choosing a channel-only cloud partner that does not sell directly, compete for registered deals or market services to their customers.
How can MSPs build predictable pricing into their cloud services?
MSPs can build predictable pricing by choosing wholesale cloud infrastructure with stable storage costs, transparent pricing and no variable egress charges.
How does ThinkOn compare in a cloud storage pricing comparison against competitors raising rates?
ThinkOn Warm Object Storage stays fixed at $6.99/TB, avoiding competitor rate hikes to $7.99/TB with zero hidden API or egress fees.