Magazine
European Cloud
Sovereign Cloud

Achieve Digital Sovereignty with EU-Based Sovereign Backup Storage

17.09.2025

10

Minutes
Christian Kaul
Founder & COO Impossible Cloud
Secure your data within EU borders, eliminate unpredictable costs, and ensure regulatory compliance with a storage solution designed for European enterprises.

In 2025, European enterprises face a critical challenge: balancing cloud adoption with the absolute need for digital sovereignty. Dependence on non-EU providers creates exposure to regulations like the CLOUD Act and introduces unpredictable costs through egress fees and complex pricing tiers. The demand for EU-based, GDPR-compliant solutions has grown by over 60%, yet awareness of viable alternatives remains a significant hurdle. This article outlines how a sovereign-by-design approach to backup storage not only meets stringent EU compliance requirements but also delivers a competitive advantage through predictable economics and robust, enterprise-grade performance.

Key Takeaways

  • True sovereign backup storage requires a 100% EU-owned and operated provider to avoid CLOUD Act exposure and ensure GDPR compliance.
  • A predictable pricing model without egress fees or API call costs is crucial for eliminating vendor lock-in and managing budgets effectively.
  • Immutable backups with S3 Object Lock are essential for modern ransomware defense and are a key component of NIS-2 compliance.

Secure Data Residency with Geofenced EU Storage

True data sovereignty requires that data is subject only to the laws of the country where it is stored. Storing backups with non-EU providers, even in European data centers, creates exposure to foreign laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act. Our sovereign backup storage EU solution operates exclusively in certified European data centers, ensuring your data never leaves the continent. We provide country-level geofencing, giving you 100% control over data residency.

This architecture provides EU legal certainty and eliminates single points of failure, a key requirement for business continuity. More than 85% of EU businesses identify EU data residency as a key vendor selection criterion. By keeping data strictly within predefined regions, you can confidently meet GDPR and other regulatory demands. This approach transforms EU-only S3 storage from a compliance checkbox into a strategic asset for your organization.

Eliminate Hidden Fees with a Predictable Cost Model

Many IT leaders feel locked into their cloud providers due to complex pricing and punitive exit fees. The upcoming EU Data Act, applicable from September 2025, mandates easier switching between cloud providers and will phase out data egress charges by 2027. Our pricing model is predictable by design, with zero egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage duration charges from day one. This transparency allows for 100% predictable budgeting and protects your margins.

This economic clarity is a primary driver for enterprises seeking EU alternatives, with over 70% citing cost transparency as a reason to switch. Our model can reduce total cost of ownership for backup storage by up to 40% compared to traditional providers. This focus on predictable economics ensures your secure EU cloud storage is also financially sustainable as you scale.

Leverage Enterprise-Grade S3 Compatibility and Performance

Migrating to a new storage platform should not require rewriting applications or retraining your team. We offer full S3-API compatibility, ensuring your existing backup tools, scripts, and applications work without modification. This protects your past IT investments, with an average of 95% of existing tools integrating seamlessly. Our architecture supports advanced S3 features right out of the box.

Key S3 capabilities include:

  • Object versioning for granular data recovery.
  • Lifecycle management policies to automate data handling.
  • IAM with MFA and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) for security.
  • Support for external Identity Providers via SAML/OIDC.
  • Event notifications to trigger downstream workflows.

Our "Always-Hot" object storage model ensures all data is immediately accessible, eliminating restore delays and the hidden operational costs of complex tiering. This consistent, low-latency performance is crucial for meeting recovery time objectives (RTOs) of under 15 minutes for critical data. This makes our sovereign S3 storage for Veeam a reliable choice for modern data protection.

Strengthen Ransomware Defense with Immutable Backups

Ransomware remains a top threat, with attacks growing by over 70% in the last year alone. A robust defense strategy requires backups that cannot be altered or deleted by malicious actors. Our sovereign backup storage EU platform includes Immutable Storage with S3 Object Lock, creating a write-once-read-many (WORM) state for your critical data. This feature provides an air-gapped defense, making your backups invulnerable to encryption or deletion for a defined retention period.

Organizations using immutable backups can recover from an attack up to 96% faster than those relying on traditional methods. This capability is a core requirement of the NIS-2 directive, which mandates comprehensive cybersecurity and risk management across supply chains. By implementing immutable backup storage, you build a resilient posture that satisfies auditors and ensures business continuity.

Meet Evolving EU Regulations Like NIS-2 and the Data Act

The European regulatory landscape is constantly evolving to strengthen digital sovereignty. The NIS-2 Directive, for example, requires entities in critical sectors to implement stringent supply-chain security and incident reporting. Our platform is sovereign by design, with continuous security processes and vulnerability management baked into our operations. This helps you meet your supply-chain assurance duties under NIS-2 with a 100% EU-based provider.

Furthermore, the EU Data Act champions data portability as a core principle to prevent vendor lock-in. Our commitment to open standards and full S3 compatibility ensures you can always move your data. We provide proven bulk data movement tools and exportable formats, preserving your long-term freedom of action. This alignment with upcoming regulations makes our GDPR-compliant S3 storage a future-proof investment.

Empower MSPs with a Partner-Ready Platform

For Managed Service Providers, resellers, and system integrators, predictable margins are essential for building profitable services. Our partner program is built on a foundation of economic transparency, with zero egress or API fees. This allows MSPs to build Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions with defensible margins of 30% or more. Our multi-tenant partner console simplifies management and ensures fast client onboarding in under one hour.

Our partner-ready features include:

  1. A multi-tenant console with granular RBAC and MFA.
  2. Full automation capabilities via a comprehensive API and CLI.
  3. Detailed reporting for billing and compliance.
  4. Expanded local access through distributors like api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK.

This focus on the channel provides our partners with the tools they need to deliver sovereign S3 storage solutions that meet the strict compliance needs of their clients.

Implement a Modern, Sovereign Backup Strategy

Adopting a sovereign backup storage EU solution is a practical step toward digital resilience. A modern 4-2-2 backup strategy-four copies of your data on two different media types, with two copies offsite, one of which is immutable and sovereign-provides robust protection. Migrating to our platform is straightforward, involving just a few key steps to ensure a seamless transition with zero downtime.

Your migration checklist should include:

  • Updating your backup software with the new S3 endpoint credentials.
  • Replicating existing backup policies and retention rules.
  • Conducting a test restore of a critical workload to validate the process.
  • Scheduling the full data migration during a low-traffic window.

This process ensures your data is protected under EU law without disrupting business operations. Start building a more resilient and compliant data protection strategy today. Talk to an expert to get a personalized migration plan.

FAQ

Why is avoiding the U.S. CLOUD Act important for EU businesses?

The U.S. CLOUD Act allows U.S. authorities to compel American companies to provide data, even if it is stored in the EU. This conflicts directly with GDPR principles. Using a 100% European provider for sovereign backup storage eliminates this risk, ensuring your data remains exclusively under EU jurisdiction.


What is S3 Object Lock and how does it protect against ransomware?

S3 Object Lock is a feature that makes data immutable, meaning it cannot be altered or deleted for a specified period. When used for backups, it creates a secure copy that is invulnerable to ransomware attacks that try to encrypt or erase backup files, ensuring you always have a clean version for recovery.


What does 'Always-Hot' storage mean?

'Always-Hot' storage means all your data is immediately accessible without any delays or extra fees for retrieval. This contrasts with tiered storage models (hot, cool, archive) that can introduce latency and unexpected costs when you need to restore data quickly, simplifying operations and guaranteeing fast recovery.


How does your partner program help MSPs increase margins?

Our partner program is designed for predictability. By offering zero egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations, we provide MSPs with a stable cost base. This allows them to build profitable Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving offerings with clear, defensible margins for their clients.


Is it difficult to migrate my backups to your platform?

No, migration is a straightforward process due to our full S3 API compatibility. Most leading backup solutions can be re-pointed to our storage with a simple change of credentials and the S3 endpoint. We provide support and documentation to ensure a smooth transition.


How does your solution align with the new EU Data Act?

The EU Data Act, applying from September 2025, aims to prevent vendor lock-in and make switching cloud providers easier. Our platform is built on these principles, with no egress fees, open S3 standards, and a commitment to data portability, ensuring you always remain in control of your data.


Would you like more information?

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