Secure Sovereign Storage Against the U.S. CLOUD Act

For Dutch companies, the U.S. CLOUD Act presents a direct conflict with GDPR, as it can compel U.S.-based providers to surrender data stored in the EU. This jurisdictional overreach affects nearly every major non-EU cloud provider, creating a significant compliance gap. Storing data with a provider subject to U.S. law means your data may not be safe, even if hosted in an Amsterdam data center. Choosing a 100% European provider is the only way to ensure your data remains solely under EU law. Impossible Cloud is sovereign by design, operating exclusively in certified European data centers to provide true digital sovereignty and eliminate CLOUD Act exposure. This EU-centric governance is a key criterion for a majority of enterprises today.

This legal certainty provides a strong foundation for building a compliant data protection strategy.

Meet Dutch GDPR and NIS-2 Requirements by Design

The GDPR mandates that personal data of EU residents is stored and processed under strict safeguards, a rule enforced in the Netherlands by the Dutch GDPR Implementation Act. Non-compliance can lead to fines of up to 4% of global annual turnover. Furthermore, the incoming NIS-2 directive, transposed into Dutch law as the Cybersecurity Act, requires organizations in critical sectors to implement robust cybersecurity risk-management measures, including securing their supply chain. A failure to comply can result in fines up to EUR 10 million.

Impossible Cloud helps you meet these obligations with several key features:

• Country-Level Geofencing: Guarantees that your Hornetsecurity backups are stored within the Netherlands or another specified EU country, satisfying GDPR data residency rules.
• EU-Only Operations: All data processing and personnel are governed by EU law, ensuring the entire service chain is compliant.
• Verified Encryption: Multi-layer encryption, both in-transit and at-rest, protects data integrity as required by NIS-2.
• Immutable Storage: Object Lock provides WORM (Write Once, Read Many) capabilities, a critical defense against ransomware.

These built-in controls simplify audits and reduce the operational burden of compliance.

Leverage Full S3 Compatibility for Seamless Integration

Migrating to a new storage backend can be complex, but it doesn't have to be. Full S3 API compatibility ensures your existing tools and scripts for Hornetsecurity continue to work without modification. This protects your past investments and reduces migration risk to nearly zero. A study found that 94% of enterprises reported improved efficiency after moving to S3-based solutions. Impossible Cloud's S3 compatibility goes beyond basic operations, supporting advanced features like versioning, lifecycle management, and object tagging. This allows you to switch endpoints and credentials while leaving your backup jobs and automation scripts completely intact. This seamless transition is a critical factor for businesses looking to avoid vendor lock-in and maintain operational continuity.

With the technical integration solved, you can focus on optimizing your data protection architecture.

Achieve Ransomware Resilience with Immutable Backups

Ransomware remains the biggest threat to businesses in the Netherlands, with attackers now specifically targeting backups to prevent recovery. Immutable storage is your most effective defense. Using the S3 Object Lock feature, Impossible Cloud makes your Hornetsecurity backups unchangeable and undeletable for a defined retention period-not even by administrators. This creates a tamper-proof recovery point, ensuring you always have a clean copy of your data. Organizations using S3 for backup have been shown to reduce their recovery time by up to 50%. This "Always-Hot" object storage model means all data is immediately accessible, avoiding restore delays common with tiered systems. This approach not only strengthens your ransomware posture but also simplifies your entire disaster recovery plan.

This robust security is complemented by a financial model designed for predictability.

Gain Predictable Margins with a Transparent Cost Model

For MSPs and enterprises in the Netherlands, unpredictable cloud costs are a major pain point. Many providers charge significant egress fees for accessing your own data, along with hidden API call costs that can inflate bills by 20% or more. Impossible Cloud eliminates this uncertainty with a clear, predictable pricing model. There are zero egress fees, zero API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This transparency allows you to forecast your expenses accurately and, for MSPs, protect your margins on Backup-as-a-Service offerings. This economic clarity is a primary driver for businesses switching to EU-based cloud alternatives. You only pay for the storage you use, making it one of the most cost-effective solutions for object storage in the Netherlands.

This predictable model is designed to be future-proof, aligning with upcoming EU regulations.

Future-Proof Your Storage for the EU Data Act

Set to apply from September 2025, the EU Data Act will enforce data portability and make it easier for customers to switch cloud providers. The act aims to dismantle vendor lock-in by mandating that providers remove all technical and commercial obstacles to switching. Impossible Cloud is already built for this future. Our use of the standard S3 API and our policy of no egress fees align perfectly with the Data Act's goals. This ensures you have a real exit path, preserving your long-term freedom and negotiation power. By choosing a compliant solution now, you avoid the risk of being locked into a provider that is unprepared for these new regulations. This makes Impossible Cloud not just a compliant choice for today, but a strategic one for tomorrow's regulatory landscape.

Talk to an expert to see how our sovereign cloud can secure your data.