Exposing the Hidden Costs in Cloud Storage Models

Standard cloud storage pricing often conceals significant operational expenses. Gartner has observed that data egress charges can account for 10% to 15% of a total cloud bill. These fees are incurred every time data is moved out of the provider's network, turning routine restores or data migrations into costly events. This model creates a strong disincentive to move data freely, leading to vendor lock-in.

Beyond egress, many providers charge for API calls, adding thousands of small transactions that accumulate into a large, unpredictable monthly expense. For applications that perform millions of object operations, these costs can be substantial. This lack of transparency complicates financial planning and makes it difficult to forecast the total cost of ownership for critical data infrastructure. A truly cost-effective storage solution must eliminate these variables entirely.

Achieve Predictability with a Zero-Fee API and Egress Model

A predictable cost model is built on transparency, removing the fees that create budget uncertainty. Impossible Cloud offers a solution with no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This approach ensures that the price you see is the price you pay, allowing for accurate financial planning with 100% predictability. For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), this model allows for the creation of stable, defensible margins for Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving offerings.

This economic clarity is a primary driver for enterprises seeking EU-based cloud alternatives. By removing variable costs, organizations can scale their data operations without fear of unexpected financial penalties. This model directly addresses the market's demand for both cost transparency and performance parity, making a switch to a European provider a practical, value-driven decision. Predictable economics are the foundation of a modern, resilient cloud strategy.

Leverage Full S3 Compatibility for Seamless Migration

True S3 compatibility is essential for protecting past technology investments and minimizing migration risk. It ensures that existing applications, scripts, and backup tools continue to work without code rewrites. This interoperability is a core benefit of using an S3-compatible storage alternative. Impossible Cloud provides full S3-API compatibility, supporting not just basic operations but also advanced capabilities like versioning, lifecycle management, and Object Lock.

A seamless migration process involves these key steps:

• Assess current data workflows and identify all S3 API endpoints in use.
• Update application configurations to point to the new S3-compatible endpoint.
• Use existing S3-native tools to transfer data without altering its format or metadata.
• Conduct test restores to validate data integrity and accessibility post-migration.

This process ensures that critical data pipelines remain operational, delivering immediate value with zero disruption.

Strengthen Security with Sovereign, Immutable Storage

Data sovereignty is a critical requirement for European businesses. Storing data exclusively in certified European data centers ensures compliance with GDPR, which carries fines of up to 4% of global revenue for breaches. Impossible Cloud operates solely within the EU, providing country-level geofencing to keep data in predefined regions and avoid exposure to foreign laws like the CLOUD Act. This sovereign-by-design approach provides legal certainty for regulated workloads.

To combat ransomware, which Gartner predicts will affect 75% of IT organizations by 2025, our platform includes Immutable Storage via S3 Object Lock. This feature makes backups unchangeable for a set period, providing a clean, reliable copy for recovery. It is a critical component of a modern 3-2-1 backup strategy, ensuring data integrity even if primary systems are compromised. This combination of sovereignty and immutability delivers a powerful defense for enterprise data.

Simplify Operations with an 'Always-Hot' Architecture

Complex storage tiering often introduces operational fragility and hidden costs. An 'Always-Hot' object storage model eliminates these issues by making all data immediately accessible without restore delays or retrieval fees. This architecture simplifies data management, as there are no complex lifecycle policies to maintain or API timeouts to troubleshoot during urgent restores. Every object is treated as primary data, ensuring consistent, predictable performance.

This model is particularly beneficial for backup and disaster recovery use cases. When a recovery is needed, there is no 4 to 12-hour delay waiting for data to be rehydrated from an archive tier. This speed and simplicity reduce operational complexity and strengthen an organization's ability to meet strict Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs). An always-on approach keeps third-party tools stable and audit processes straightforward.

Meet 2025 EU Regulatory Mandates by Design

Forthcoming EU regulations create new compliance obligations for businesses and their cloud providers. The EU Data Act, applying from September 2025, mandates data portability and interoperability to prevent vendor lock-in. It will introduce a phased ban on data egress fees, a practice already central to our transparent pricing model. Our platform is designed to facilitate easy data export, including metadata and versions, ensuring you maintain control over your assets.

The NIS-2 Directive also raises the bar for cybersecurity, requiring continuous security processes and supply-chain assurance from cloud providers. Our operations are built to meet these standards, with multi-layer encryption, IAM with MFA, and an architecture that eliminates single points of failure. By choosing a compliant-by-design provider, you turn regulatory readiness into a competitive advantage.

Enable the Channel with a Partner-Ready Platform

Our platform is built to help MSPs, resellers, and system integrators succeed. The predictable, zero-egress-fee model ensures stable margins for BaaS and archiving services. The partner console provides essential tools for growth, including multi-tenant management, role-based access control (RBAC), and automation via a comprehensive API and CLI. This makes onboarding new clients fast and efficient, with over 95% of partners ready to go in minutes.

We are expanding our reach across Europe to provide local support for our partners. Recent distribution agreements with api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK demonstrate our commitment to the channel. These partnerships provide thousands of resellers with direct access to a sovereign, S3-compatible storage solution designed for their needs. This growing ecosystem empowers our partners to deliver compliant and cost-effective cloud services to their clients.

Take Practical Steps Toward a Sovereign Cloud

Transitioning to a sovereign cloud solution is a straightforward process. It begins with identifying workloads that handle sensitive or regulated data. From there, leveraging a platform with a fully compatible S3 API ensures the transition is smooth and requires minimal engineering effort. The goal is to achieve compliance and cost predictability without sacrificing performance or operational agility.

Here is a simple checklist to begin your migration:

1. Identify Data: Pinpoint datasets subject to GDPR, NIS-2, or other EU data residency rules.
2. Verify S3 Compatibility: Confirm your applications use the S3 API for object storage operations.
3. Update Endpoints: Change the S3 endpoint in your application or backup software configuration.
4. Initiate Transfer: Use your existing tools to move data to the new sovereign storage location.
5. Test and Validate: Perform a test restore to confirm data integrity and application functionality.

Ready to eliminate egress fees and take control of your data? Talk to an expert to get a personalized demo.