Magazine
Cloud Storage
Object Storage

Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service vs. a Sovereign EU Alternative

24.09.2025

10

Minutes
Christian Kaul
Founder & COO Impossible Cloud
Achieving Digital Sovereignty and Predictable Costs with an EU-Based Object Storage Service

For UK and EU enterprises, selecting an object storage service extends beyond simple capacity and speed; it's a strategic decision impacting regulatory compliance, cost predictability, and data control. While non-EU solutions like Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service offer global reach, they can introduce significant risks related to data sovereignty under laws like the US CLOUD Act. This dependency creates a demand for EU-based alternatives that guarantee data residency, eliminate unpredictable egress fees, and provide a clear path to compliance with regulations such as GDPR and the upcoming EU Data Act. An EU-native, S3-compatible platform delivers performance parity and robust security without the risk of vendor lock-in.

Key Takeaways

  • Choosing an EU-based object storage service eliminates data sovereignty risks from foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act, ensuring GDPR compliance.
  • A transparent pricing model without egress fees or API call charges provides predictable costs, preventing the vendor lock-in common with hyperscale providers.
  • Full S3 compatibility, including advanced features like Object Lock for ransomware protection, allows for seamless migration and integration with existing backup tools.

Secure EU Data Residency Against Foreign Jurisdictions

Storing data with non-EU cloud providers creates a fundamental conflict with European data sovereignty principles. The US CLOUD Act allows US authorities to demand data from American companies, regardless of where that data is stored physically. This means data in a European data center owned by a US firm is not immune, creating a compliance risk under GDPR. A true EU provider, operating exclusively in European data centers, eliminates this exposure entirely. This ensures your data remains under the protection of EU law, a key criterion for over 70% of EU decision-makers. Our enterprise object storage is sovereign by design, keeping your data geofenced within your chosen EU country. This jurisdictional clarity is the only way to guarantee control.

Eliminate Unpredictable Costs with a Transparent Economic Model

Hyperscaler pricing models often contain hidden charges that inflate your total cost of ownership. Egress fees, charged for moving data out of the cloud, can increase a company's monthly bill by over 300% during data migration or replication. API call charges add another layer of unpredictable costs, penalizing you for actively using your own data. We removed these entirely; there are zero egress fees, zero API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This predictable model allows Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to build services with defensible margins of 20% or more. A transparent economic model is a core tenet of a fair S3-compatible object storage partnership.

Achieve Full S3 Compatibility Without Compromise

Migrating to a new storage platform should not require rewriting your applications. Our service offers 100% S3 API compatibility, ensuring your existing tools, scripts, and backup software work from day one. This protects your past investments and reduces migration risk to near zero. We support advanced S3 features beyond basic operations, including versioning, lifecycle management, and event notifications. This seamless integration is why leading backup ISVs, like NovaBackup, collaborate with us for compliant solutions. You can migrate your data by changing just one line of code in your configuration. This commitment to open standards prevents vendor lock-in.

Leverage an Architecture Built for Resilience and Performance

Enterprise workloads demand consistent performance, whether you are storing millions of small files or large archives. Our architecture is built for high availability with no single point of failure, ensuring strong read/write consistency. We utilize an "Always-Hot" object storage model, making 100% of your data immediately accessible without the delays or surprise fees associated with restoring from archived tiers. This approach simplifies operations and guarantees that your recovery time objectives (RTOs) can be met within minutes. Fragile tiering models often lead to API timeouts and restore failures, but our model provides predictable low latency from our EU data centers. This robust design is central to modern object storage services.

Implement Immutable Ransomware Protection with Object Lock

Ransomware remains a top threat, with attacks costing businesses an average of over 4 million euros. Immutable storage is your last line of defense. Our platform includes S3 Object Lock, which prevents any file from being altered or deleted for a user-defined period. This creates a virtual air gap, rendering ransomware encryption attempts useless against your locked backups. You can use two modes for data retention:

  • Compliance Mode: This is the highest level of protection, where no user, not even a root account, can alter or delete the object until the retention period expires. It is ideal for meeting strict regulatory requirements like SEC Rule 17a-4.
  • Governance Mode: This mode allows users with special permissions to override the lock settings, offering more flexibility for internal data governance policies while still protecting against accidental deletion.

This feature is essential for maintaining auditable, compliant archives under GDPR and other regulations. It is a core component of any effective cloud storage API strategy.

Prepare for 2025 EU Regulations Today

The European regulatory landscape is evolving, and your storage provider must be ready. Two key regulations for 2025 are the EU Data Act and NIS-2. The EU Data Act, applicable from September 2025, mandates data portability and interoperability to prevent vendor lock-in. Our platform is built on open standards, ensuring you can always move your data, including all metadata and versions, without penalty. The NIS-2 directive requires continuous security processes and supply-chain assurance for critical infrastructure. Our operations, confined to certified EU data centers, are designed to meet these stringent security and reporting timelines from day one. Choosing a compliant provider now turns regulatory readiness into a competitive advantage.

Enable Channel Partners with a Predictable and Scalable Platform

We built our platform to empower our channel partners, including MSPs, resellers, and system integrators. The predictable pricing model with no egress or API fees allows partners to offer Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions with stable, protected margins. Our partner console provides essential tools for growth:

  1. Multi-tenant management with role-based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA).
  2. Full automation capabilities via a comprehensive API and command-line interface (CLI).
  3. Detailed reporting and monitoring tools for client management.
  4. Fast onboarding processes that take less than 24 hours.

With distribution partners like api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK, we are expanding local access for hundreds of resellers. This partner-ready approach simplifies compliance and accelerates growth. Talk to an expert to learn how our migration tools can help you onboard clients quickly.

FAQ

What makes your object storage service enterprise-ready?

Our service is enterprise-ready due to its full S3 compatibility, an "Always-Hot" architecture for consistent high performance, robust IAM with MFA/RBAC, and verified security features like Object Lock. We operate exclusively in certified EU data centers to ensure compliance with GDPR, NIS-2, and the EU Data Act.

Are there any hidden fees I should be aware of?

No. Our pricing is transparent and predictable. We have no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. You pay only for the storage you use, allowing for clear budgeting and predictable margins for our partners.

How do you support Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?

We provide MSPs with a multi-tenant partner console, full automation via API/CLI, detailed reporting, and a predictable pricing model that guarantees stable margins. With distributors in Germany and the UK, we offer dedicated local support and fast onboarding.

Can I use my existing backup software with your service?

Yes. Our full S3-API compatibility ensures out-of-the-box integration with leading backup tools and any other application that uses the S3 protocol. This allows you to maintain your existing workflows without any changes.

How does your service help with GDPR compliance?

Our service is sovereign by design. All data is stored and processed exclusively in certified EU data centers, with country-level geofencing available. This ensures your data never leaves the EU, helping you meet the stringent data residency and protection requirements of GDPR.

What is an 'Always-Hot' storage model?

An 'Always-Hot' model means all your data is immediately accessible at all times, with no delays or extra fees for retrieval. Unlike tiered storage that moves data to slower, cheaper 'cold' layers, our model eliminates the complexity and surprise costs of data restoration, ensuring your applications and recovery processes are always predictable.

Would you like more information?

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