The Intricacies of Traditional S3 Tiering for Cohesity Backups

Cohesity DataPlatform is designed to integrate easily with S3-compatible object storage, allowing organisations to extend their backup and archiving strategies to the cloud. This capability is vital for implementing the 3-2-1 backup rule, ensuring offsite copies, and managing long-term retention. Typically, this involves configuring Cohesity to tier data to hyperscaler S3 services such as AWS S3, Azure Blob Storage, or Google Cloud Storage. While these platforms offer vast scale, their multi-tiered storage models (e.g., AWS S3 Standard, S3 Infrequent Access, S3 Glacier; Azure Hot, Cool, Archive) introduce a layer of complexity that can be challenging to manage effectively.

Each tier comes with its own pricing structure, not just for storage capacity but also for operations (PUT, GET requests) and, critically, data retrieval. Moving data between tiers, or retrieving it from colder tiers, can incur unexpected costs and introduce latency. For instance, restoring a critical backup from an archive tier might involve significant delays and additional retrieval fees, impacting Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) during a disaster recovery scenario. This complexity often leads to organisations over-provisioning storage in hotter, more expensive tiers to avoid these pitfalls, inadvertently increasing their overall cloud spend.

The operational burden of managing lifecycle policies across these varied tiers can be substantial. Misconfigurations can lead to data being stored in inappropriate tiers, resulting in higher costs or slower access than required. For MSPs managing multiple client environments, this complexity is multiplied, making it difficult to offer predictable pricing and consistent service levels. The promise of cost savings through tiering often clashes with the reality of opaque billing and management overhead, prompting a search for simpler, more transparent alternatives.

Why EU Data Sovereignty is Non-Negotiable for Cloud Backup

For any organisation operating within the European Union or handling data related to EU citizens, data sovereignty is not merely a preference but a stringent legal and ethical requirement. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) mandates strict rules on how personal data is collected, processed, stored, and transferred, requiring adequate protection and often stipulating data residency within the EU or EEA. Similarly, the UK Data Protection Act 2018 (UK DPA 2018) works in tandem with UK GDPR to govern data handling for British entities, with equivalent protections and requirements for data residency and processing.

A significant concern for EU organisations using US-headquartered cloud providers, even if data is physically stored in European data centres, is the extraterritorial reach of US laws like the CLOUD Act. This Act allows US authorities to compel American companies to provide access to data stored anywhere in the world, regardless of local data protection laws. This creates a direct conflict with GDPR, which requires a lawful basis for data transfers outside the EU, typically through mechanisms like Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties (MLATs) that the CLOUD Act bypasses.

The NIS2 Directive further compounds these requirements, expanding the scope of cybersecurity obligations to a broader range of entities, including cloud service providers, and emphasising supply chain security. Organisations must ensure their entire digital infrastructure, including backup solutions, adheres to these directives to mitigate risks of cyber incidents and maintain accountability. Choosing an EU cloud provider that is 'sovereign by design' ensures data remains under EU/UK jurisdiction, free from the complexities and legal ambiguities posed by foreign laws, thereby safeguarding digital independence and regulatory compliance.

Unpacking the True Costs: Egress Fees and Hidden Charges in Cloud Tiering

A significant and often overlooked cost driver in cloud storage, particularly for backup and disaster recovery, is data egress fees. Hyperscaler cloud providers typically charge for data transferred out of their networks or between regions, and these costs can quickly escalate, turning seemingly low storage prices into unexpectedly high monthly bills. For instance, AWS S3 egress fees can range from approximately $0.09/GB for the first 10TB, tapering slightly for higher volumes. Azure Blob Storage egress can be around $0.087/GB for the initial 10TB, while Google Cloud Storage can start at $0.12/GB.

These charges are not limited to moving data out of the cloud entirely; they can also apply to data transfers between different regions, availability zones, or even when accessing data from colder storage tiers. For Cohesity users, this means that every restore operation, every data migration, or even routine data access for analytics could trigger substantial, unpredictable egress charges. This unpredictability makes accurate budgeting nearly impossible for IT departments and erodes the profitability of MSPs offering backup-as-a-service (BaaS).

Beyond egress, hyperscalers also levy charges for API requests (PUT, GET, LIST), early deletion penalties for tiered storage, and retrieval fees from archive tiers. These micro-charges, while small individually, can accumulate rapidly, creating a complex and opaque billing structure. The EU Data Act, which came into effect in January 2024, aims to reduce vendor lock-in and improve data portability, leading some providers like Google Cloud to waive certain egress fees for switching providers in the EU and UK. However, general egress fees for ongoing operations and data access within their ecosystems largely remain, highlighting the persistent challenge of cost predictability.

Cloud Egress & Jurisdictional Comparison for Backup

The 'Always-Hot' Advantage: Simplifying Cohesity S3 Tiering and Access

The traditional approach to cloud storage for backup often involves complex tiering strategies, where data is moved between 'hot', 'cool', and 'archive' tiers based on access frequency. While this aims to optimise costs, it introduces significant operational overhead, potential retrieval delays, and unpredictable fees. An 'Always-Hot' object storage model simplifies this. In an Always-Hot architecture, all data resides in a single, high-performance tier, accessible immediately without any tier-restore delays or associated retrieval charges.

For Cohesity S3 tiering, this means eliminating the need for intricate lifecycle policies to manage data movement between different storage classes. Backup administrators can configure Cohesity to tier data directly to a single, Always-Hot S3-compatible endpoint, knowing that all data will be instantly available whenever needed. This significantly improves Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) for critical backups, as there's no waiting period for data to be brought out of a 'cold' or 'archive' state. The simplicity extends to cost management, as there are no hidden retrieval fees or complex calculations based on access patterns.

This streamlined approach not only reduces administrative burden but also enhances the reliability of your backup and disaster recovery strategy. With all data readily available, organisations can perform rapid restores, conduct more frequent recovery testing, and ensure business continuity with greater confidence. It's a shift from managing storage tiers to simply managing data, providing a more efficient and predictable foundation for your Cohesity backups.

Impossible Cloud: A Sovereign Cohesity S3 Tiering Alternative EU Cloud

Impossible Cloud emerges as a compelling Cohesity S3 tiering alternative EU cloud, specifically engineered to address the challenges of cost predictability, data sovereignty, and operational simplicity for European organisations. Our S3-compatible object storage is designed as a drop-in replacement for existing S3 targets, meaning Cohesity users can easily configure their DataPlatform to tier backups to Impossible Cloud without any code rewrites or complex reconfigurations. This seamless integration extends to advanced S3 features like Object Lock, providing immutable storage for enhanced ransomware protection and compliance with WORM (Write Once Read Many) requirements.

Unlike hyperscalers, Impossible Cloud operates on an 'Always-Hot' architecture, ensuring all your Cohesity-tiered data is immediately accessible with strong read/write consistency and predictable latencies. This eliminates the need for complex tiering strategies, unpredictable retrieval delays, and hidden fees associated with moving data between different storage classes. Our predictable, transparent pricing model means no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage duration, allowing organisations to accurately budget for their backup storage without fear of unexpected charges.

Crucially, Impossible Cloud is sovereign by design, with all data stored exclusively in certified European data centres (Germany, Netherlands, UK, Denmark, Poland). This commitment ensures full compliance with GDPR, UK DPA 2018, and the NIS2 Directive, providing complete protection from extraterritorial laws like the US CLOUD Act. Organisations can leverage country-level geofencing to keep their data within predefined EU regions, guaranteeing digital sovereignty and legal certainty. This makes Impossible Cloud an ideal foundation for robust, compliant, and cost-effective backup and archiving strategies for Cohesity users across Europe. Learn more about our S3-compatible object storage.

Building Profitable MSP Backup Services with Impossible Cloud

For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), the choice of cloud storage backend for backup solutions directly impacts profitability and client trust. The unpredictable costs associated with hyperscaler egress fees and complex tiering models can severely erode margins and make it challenging to offer competitive, fixed-price services to end-clients. Impossible Cloud's model, with its transparent, predictable pricing and no egress fees, provides a stable cost base that allows MSPs to build highly profitable Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) offerings.

Our S3 compatibility ensures seamless integration with leading backup solutions like Veeam, Acronis, and MSP360, which are commonly used by MSPs. This means minimal effort for integration and maximum use of existing tools. The Immutable Storage with Object Lock feature provides critical ransomware protection, allowing MSPs to offer enhanced security and peace of mind to their clients, knowing that backup data cannot be altered or deleted for a specified period. This is a significant differentiator in today's cybersecurity landscape.

Beyond technical features, Impossible Cloud supports MSP growth with a multi-tenant console, RBAC/MFA for secure management, and automation via API/CLI. Our whitelabel capability enables MSPs to offer a branded cloud service, strengthening their market presence and customer loyalty. By partnering with Impossible Cloud, MSPs can deliver enterprise-ready, GDPR-compliant backup solutions with predictable margins, full control, and zero surprises, fostering long-term client relationships and sustainable business growth. Calculate your potential savings today.