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Cost Optimization
AWS Alternative

Finding a Sovereign OVH Alternative: Your 2025 Enterprise Strategy

13.11.2025

8

Minutes
Christian Kaul
CEO Impossible Cloud
Move beyond traditional cloud providers with a European object storage solution built for data sovereignty, predictable costs, and enterprise-grade resilience.

For enterprise IT leaders, selecting a cloud storage provider involves balancing performance, cost, and compliance. Dependence on non-EU providers creates significant risks, including exposure to laws like the CLOUD Act and unpredictable costs from egress fees. A majority of EU companies now rank provider origin and EU data centers as top selection criteria, seeking a sovereign alternative. The ideal solution delivers full S3 compatibility, transparent pricing, and robust security within a strict EU legal framework, ensuring data remains under European control.

Schlüsselpunkte

  • A true OVH alternative for 2025 must be sovereign by design, operating exclusively in EU data centers to ensure GDPR compliance and eliminate CLOUD Act exposure.
  • Predictable costs are non-negotiable; a transparent model with zero egress fees, no API call charges, and no minimum storage duration removes financial uncertainty and prevents vendor lock-in.
  • Enterprise-ready means full S3 compatibility, an "Always-Hot" architecture for instant data access, and robust security features like Immutable Object Lock for ransomware protection.

Prioritize Digital Sovereignty and EU Legal Certainty

A majority of EU decision-makers now demand European solutions for their critical infrastructure. Storing data exclusively in certified European data centers provides a direct answer to this need. This strategy ensures 100% GDPR compliance for sensitive workloads. It also eliminates exposure to the U.S. CLOUD Act completely.

Country-level geofencing keeps all data within predefined regions under strict EU rules. This offers verifiable secure data storage and legal certainty. This focus on sovereignty is no longer a niche requirement; it is a core business strategy for 2025 and beyond.

Achieve Predictable Cloud Economics Without Hidden Fees

Many companies feel locked into providers due to complex pricing models. A transparent economic model is a key driver for switching providers. Look for a solution with zero egress fees and no charges for API calls.

This approach creates predictable margins, especially for Managed Service Providers (MSPs). It also removes the risk of surprise costs that impact revenue by over 15% in some cases. The following benefits are key:

  • No egress fees: Freely move your data without financial penalties.
  • No API call costs: Automate and integrate without worrying about usage-based charges.
  • No minimum storage duration: Pay only for what you use, for as long as you use it.
  • Predictable margins: MSPs can build services with clear, defensible profitability.

This transparent model is a core component of a modern cloud storage pricing strategy. It directly addresses the primary economic pain points felt by over 60% of IT leaders. This financial clarity enables better business planning and resource allocation.

Demand Enterprise-Ready S3 Compatibility and Performance

True enterprise readiness requires more than basic API support. Full S3-API compatibility ensures your existing applications, scripts, and tools continue to work without any code rewrites. This protects your technology investments, which can represent up to 40% of a project's budget.

An architecture built for consistency is essential for modern workloads. An "Always-Hot" object storage model ensures all data is immediately accessible. This avoids the restore delays and API timeouts common with complex tiering. This design choice reduces operational complexity by at least 25% for backup and recovery tasks. Your S3-compatible storage should support advanced features out-of-the-box.

Key architectural features to look for include:

  1. Strong read/write consistency for data integrity.
  2. Predictable latencies for stable application performance.
  3. Multi-AZ replication to eliminate single points of failure.
  4. Support for versioning, lifecycle management, and event notifications.

This robust foundation ensures your storage can handle millions of small files or large archives with equal efficiency. It provides the stability needed for mission-critical backup and disaster recovery operations.

Implement Advanced Security for Ransomware Protection

Security is a foundational requirement, not an optional extra. A modern cloud alternative must provide multi-layer encryption for data in transit and at rest. This is the baseline for protecting data against unauthorized access, with breaches costing an average of €4 million.

Immutable Storage with Object Lock is a critical defense against ransomware. It creates write-once-read-many (WORM) storage, making backups unchangeable for a set period. This feature is a core component of a resilient ransomware protection strategy. Identity-based IAM with MFA and RBAC provides granular control over data access. Support for external IdPs via SAML/OIDC allows for seamless integration with your existing security framework, reducing management overhead by over 30%. These security measures are essential for building a resilient and compliant infrastructure.

Ensure Future Readiness with EU Regulatory Alignment

Regulatory compliance is a competitive advantage. From September 2025, the EU Data Act mandates data portability and interoperability by design. A compliant provider must prove real exit paths, ensuring you are never locked in. This includes the ability to export all metadata, versions, and access information.

The NIS-2 directive further raises the bar for security processes. It requires continuous vulnerability management and supply-chain assurance baked into operations. A provider aligned with NIS-2 demonstrates a mature security posture. Choosing a German hyperscaler alternative built on these principles ensures your infrastructure is prepared for the next wave of EU regulations. This proactive stance on compliance minimizes future risks and costs.

Leverage a Partner-Ready Ecosystem for Growth

For MSPs and resellers, a strong partner program is essential for success. A partner-ready platform provides the tools needed to build profitable services. This includes a multi-tenant console with robust RBAC and MFA for secure client management.

Automation via a full-featured API and CLI is critical for efficient operations. Predictable margins from a zero-egress-fee model allow partners to create defensible pricing. Recent distribution agreements with partners like api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK expand local access for the channel. This growing ecosystem, including collaborations with backup leaders like NovaBackup, provides the support needed to deliver sovereign cloud storage solutions to clients across Europe.

FAQ

Is your object storage fully GDPR compliant?

Yes. Our service is sovereign by design, operating exclusively in certified European data centers with country-level geofencing. This ensures all data is stored and processed under strict EU rules, guaranteeing GDPR compliance.


What does 'no egress fees' mean for my business?

It means you can access and move your data as often as you need without incurring extra charges. This provides complete cost predictability and eliminates the financial penalties that create vendor lock-in with other providers.


Can I use my existing backup software, like Veeam or others?

Yes. Our platform offers full S3-API compatibility, which means it integrates out-of-the-box with leading backup tools, applications, and scripts that use the S3 protocol. No changes to your existing workflows are needed.


How does your 'Always-Hot' architecture benefit me?

Our 'Always-Hot' model ensures all your data is immediately accessible without any restore delays or retrieval fees. This simplifies operations, makes restores predictable during emergencies, and avoids the hidden costs and complexities of tiered storage.


How do you protect my data from ransomware?

We provide Immutable Storage using S3 Object Lock. This feature allows you to make your backups unchangeable for a defined retention period, providing a powerful, modern defense against ransomware attacks.


Is this service suitable for Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?

Absolutely. The service is partner-ready with a multi-tenant management console, automation via API/CLI, and a predictable pricing model with no egress or API fees, which allows MSPs to build profitable and defensible margins for their services.


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