Service Update: Vault Former Employee End of Life – Aug. 15, 2022

Service Update: Vault Former Employee End of Life: VFE Licenses will no longer be available as of January 15, 2023.

As previously announced by Google, free Vault Former Employee (VFE) licenses will no longer be available as of January 15, 2023. To maintain data for past employees, these licenses will transition to Archive User Licenses with compatible Google Workspace subscriptions.  This transition impacts fees beginning in January 2023.

Background

With the launch of Google Workspace, VFE license were replaced by Archive User Licenses.  Existing VFE customers with free licenses were grandfathered.  Google’s original plan to phase our VFE licenses by the end of January 2021 were delayed.  Google recently announced a definitive timeline.  Cumulus Global has also sent informational emails to all of our clients with VFE licenses.

To prevent a loss of data, you should plan your transition to Google Workspace Archive User Licensing (AUL).  Note that AUL is a paid service running with monthly per user fees of $4 to $7.

Impact

If you take no action, you will either:

1. Lose access to the VFE accounts and data; or
2. Transition from a free service to the paid AUL service.

Archive User Licenses are not available with G Suite. Therefore, you must transition to Google Workspace to use AULs. 

The cost of AULs varies based on your Google Workspace subscription:

• Google Workspace Business
  • Plus: $4/user/month
• Google Workspace Enterprise
  • Standard: $5/user/month
  • Plus: $7/user/month

Note that AULs are NOT available with other Google Workspace licenses.

Action Plan

We will help you with the following steps:

1. Decide if you need (or want) to continue keeping accounts for past employees.  If so, for how long will you keep the data and how many accounts do you need to license?
   1. Remove accounts no longer needed
   2. Export accounts to preserve data, as appropriate
2. Assess your current G Suite or Google Workspace subscription for licensing and compatibility
   1. Plan your transition to Google Workspace if you are currently on G Suite Basic, Business, or Enterprise
   2. If you are on Google Workspace, determine if you need to upgrade licenses for AUL compatibility
   3. Confirm that your VFE licenses are now a free trial of Archive User Licenses and the trial end date
   4. Understand the impact on your monthly or annual costs
   5. Determine if you are eligible for transition incentive discounts
3. Transition, as needed, to Google Workspace before your AUL Trial End Date.

Financial Impact

• In addition to the per user fees for the Archive User Licenses themselves, you may need to upgrade your Google Workspace subscription to ensure access to AUL services.
• For existing customers, Cumulus Global will begin invoicing for Archive User Licenses in January.  For those on an annual agreement, the fees will be prorated accordingly.

Please contact us by email, via our website, or by scheduling time directly with one of our Cloud advisors, with any questions or concerns regarding this Service Update covering Vault Former Employee end of life.