Magazine
European Cloud
Data Residency

Achieve Digital Sovereignty with Compliant EU Cloud Data Protection Storage

05.08.2025

9

Minutes
Christian Kaul
Founder & COO Impossible Cloud
How European businesses can meet GDPR, NIS-2, and EU Data Act requirements with a sovereign-by-design storage architecture.

For UK and European enterprises, ensuring robust EU cloud data protection storage is no longer optional. Regulations like GDPR demand strict data residency, while the upcoming NIS-2 Directive and EU Data Act of 2025 raise the stakes for security and portability. Many businesses feel locked into complex contracts with non-EU providers, exposing them to compliance risks and unpredictable costs. The solution lies in a sovereign-by-design approach: S3-compatible object storage architected exclusively within European data centers, offering transparent pricing and full regulatory alignment. This provides a practical path to digital sovereignty.

Key Takeaways

  • True EU data sovereignty requires storage that is physically located, legally governed, and exclusively operated within the European Union, eliminating exposure to foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act.
  • Upcoming regulations like the EU Data Act (Sept 2025) and NIS-2 make data portability and continuous security processes mandatory, favoring cloud providers with open standards and no lock-in.
  • A predictable cost model with zero egress fees, no API call charges, and no minimum storage duration is critical for enterprises and MSPs to control budgets and protect margins.

Secure Data Sovereignty Within EU Borders

A majority of EU decision-makers now demand European solutions for their critical data infrastructure. True digital sovereignty means your data is stored and governed exclusively under EU law, safe from foreign legal access requests like the CLOUD Act. Our platform operates entirely within certified European data centers, providing country-level geofencing to guarantee data residency. This ensures 100% of your data stays within your chosen EU region. This approach directly addresses GDPR's core requirements for data protection. Choosing an EU-only storage provider is the first step toward building a resilient data strategy.

Meet Enterprise-Grade Demands with Full S3 Compatibility

Switching to a compliant provider must not disrupt your existing workflows, which protect investments of thousands of euros. Our service offers 100% S3 API compatibility, ensuring your applications, scripts, and backup tools continue to work without any code rewrites. This includes advanced capabilities that many alternatives lack. We support the following right out of the box:

  • Object versioning and lifecycle management
  • Immutable Storage with Object Lock
  • Identity and Access Management (IAM) with MFA/RBAC
  • Event notifications for automated workflows
  • Support for SAML/OIDC for external identity providers

Our "Always-Hot" architecture makes every single object immediately accessible. This eliminates the delays and hidden fees associated with tiered storage models, a common issue with at least 3 major providers. This design simplifies operations and guarantees predictable performance for your secure EU data center needs.

Strengthen Ransomware Defenses with Immutable Storage

Ransomware attacks continue to increase, with recovery costs averaging over 1.5 million euros for affected businesses. Immutable storage, or Object Lock, is a critical defense mechanism that makes your backup data unchangeable for a set period. Once written, no one can alter or delete an object until its retention policy expires. This provides a guaranteed clean copy for recovery. This feature is a core component of a modern 3-2-1 or 4-2-2 backup strategy. Our platform integrates this capability at no extra cost, providing auditable proof of data integrity for compliance mandates. This proactive security posture is essential for meeting the stringent risk management requirements of new regulations.

Align with Upcoming EU Data Act and NIS-2 Regulations

The European regulatory landscape is evolving with two key pieces of legislation. Both will impact your cloud strategy starting in 2025. Staying ahead requires a partner whose architecture is built for future compliance. Here is how we align with these new rules:

  1. EU Data Act (September 2025): This regulation mandates data portability and makes vendor lock-in obsolete. Our model, with full S3 compatibility and zero egress fees, is designed for easy data mobility. We provide a real exit path, ensuring you retain control over your data assets.
  2. NIS-2 Directive: This directive imposes stricter cybersecurity duties, including supply-chain security and incident reporting. Our platform's built-in features, like multi-layer encryption and IAM, provide the continuous security processes required for NIS-2 compliance.

These regulations are designed to empower businesses and secure the EU's digital infrastructure. Choosing a compliant storage foundation now is a strategic advantage for the coming years.

Achieve Predictable Costs and Higher Margins

For MSPs and enterprise IT, budget predictability is paramount, yet over 60% of cloud users report surprise costs. We eliminate this uncertainty with a transparent economic model. There are absolutely no egress fees, no charges for API calls, and no minimum storage durations. This predictable-by-design approach can lead to savings of over 70% compared to hyperscaler alternatives. For our partners, this translates directly into stable, defensible margins for Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions. With new distribution agreements with partners like Northamber plc in the UK and api in Germany, accessing these benefits has never been easier for resellers. This focus on guaranteed privacy and cost control is changing the market.

Implement a Sovereign Storage Strategy in 3 Steps

Migrating to a sovereign cloud solution is a straightforward process with the right plan. Our S3-compatible architecture simplifies the technical work to just a few hours. Here is a simple checklist to guide your transition:

  1. Assess Your Data: Identify all datasets subject to GDPR and other EU regulations. Classify them based on sovereignty and residency requirements.
  2. Configure Endpoints: Update your existing backup software or S3 tools to point to our EU-only endpoints. Your existing scripts and applications will work without modification.
  3. Migrate and Test: Transfer your data using your preferred S3 tool. Perform a test restore to validate the integrity and accessibility of your backups.

Our team is available to help you plan and execute your migration with zero downtime. Taking these practical steps ensures your GDPR-compliant S3 storage is operational in under one day.

FAQ

How does Impossible Cloud ensure GDPR compliance?

Impossible Cloud ensures GDPR compliance by operating exclusively in certified European data centers, offering country-level geofencing, and being a European company governed solely by EU law. This combination of technical and legal safeguards provides true data sovereignty.


Can I use my existing backup software with Impossible Cloud?

Yes. Our platform is fully S3-API compatible, which means it works out-of-the-box with leading backup software like Veeam, NovaBackup, and others that support S3 object storage as a target.


What does 'Always-Hot' storage mean?

Our 'Always-Hot' storage model means all your data is immediately accessible at high performance, with no delays or extra fees for retrieval. This eliminates the complexity and slow restore times of tiered storage systems.


How does your pricing model work?

We offer a transparent and predictable pricing model. You pay only for the storage you use, with no egress fees, no API request charges, and no minimum storage duration.


How do I migrate my data to Impossible Cloud?

Migration is simple due to our S3 compatibility. You can use any S3-compatible data transfer tool to move your data. You just need to update the endpoint, access key, and secret key in your existing tools.


How does your service protect against the US CLOUD Act?

As a European company with infrastructure only in Europe, we are not subject to US jurisdiction. This provides a strong legal shield against requests made under the US CLOUD Act, ensuring your data remains protected under EU privacy laws.


Would you like more information?

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