Cloud Storage
Object Storage
alibaba cloud object storage service
Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service vs. a Sovereign EU Alternative
Concerns over data sovereignty and unpredictable costs are driving a majority of EU businesses to seek European cloud solutions. Non-EU providers can expose your data to foreign laws and surprise you with egress fees reaching thousands per month. A sovereign, EU-only object storage service offers a practical, enterprise-ready alternative.
Key Takeawys
Choosing an EU-based object storage service eliminates data sovereignty risks from foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act, ensuring GDPR compliance.
A transparent pricing model without egress fees or API call charges provides predictable costs, preventing the vendor lock-in common with hyperscale providers.
Full S3 compatibility, including advanced features like Object Lock for ransomware protection, allows for seamless migration and integration with existing backup tools.
For UK and EU enterprises, selecting an object storage service extends beyond simple capacity and speed; it's a strategic decision impacting regulatory compliance, cost predictability, and data control. While non-EU solutions like Alibaba Cloud Object Storage Service offer global reach, they can introduce significant risks related to data sovereignty under laws like the US CLOUD Act. This dependency creates a demand for EU-based alternatives that guarantee data residency, eliminate unpredictable egress fees, and provide a clear path to compliance with regulations such as GDPR and the upcoming EU Data Act. An EU-native, S3-compatible platform delivers performance parity and robust security without the risk of vendor lock-in.
Secure EU Data Residency Against Foreign Jurisdictions
Storing data with non-EU cloud providers creates a fundamental conflict with European data sovereignty principles. The US CLOUD Act allows US authorities to demand data from American companies, regardless of where that data is stored physically. This means data in a European data center owned by a US firm is not immune, creating a compliance risk under GDPR. A true EU provider, operating exclusively in European data centers, eliminates this exposure entirely. This ensures your data remains under the protection of EU law, a key criterion for over 70% of EU decision-makers. Our enterprise object storage is sovereign by design, keeping your data geofenced within your chosen EU country. This jurisdictional clarity is the only way to guarantee control.
Eliminate Unpredictable Costs with a Transparent Economic Model
Hyperscaler pricing models often contain hidden charges that inflate your total cost of ownership. Egress fees, charged for moving data out of the cloud, can increase a company's monthly bill by over 300% during data migration or replication. API call charges add another layer of unpredictable costs, penalizing you for actively using your own data. We removed these entirely; there are zero egress fees, zero API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This predictable model allows Managed Service Providers (MSPs) to build services with defensible margins of 20% or more. A transparent economic model is a core tenet of a fair S3-compatible object storage partnership.
Achieve Full S3 Compatibility Without Compromise
Migrating to a new storage platform should not require rewriting your applications. Our service offers 100% S3 API compatibility, ensuring your existing tools, scripts, and backup software work from day one. This protects your past investments and reduces migration risk to near zero. We support advanced S3 features beyond basic operations, including versioning, lifecycle management, and event notifications. This seamless integration is why leading backup ISVs, like NovaBackup, collaborate with us for compliant solutions. You can migrate your data by changing just one line of code in your configuration. This commitment to open standards prevents vendor lock-in.
Leverage an Architecture Built for Resilience and Performance
Enterprise workloads demand consistent performance, whether you are storing millions of small files or large archives. Our architecture is built for high availability with no single point of failure, ensuring strong read/write consistency. We utilize an "Always-Hot" object storage model, making 100% of your data immediately accessible without the delays or surprise fees associated with restoring from archived tiers. This approach simplifies operations and guarantees that your recovery time objectives (RTOs) can be met within minutes. Fragile tiering models often lead to API timeouts and restore failures, but our model provides predictable low latency from our EU data centers. This robust design is central to modern object storage services.
Implement Immutable Ransomware Protection with Object Lock
Ransomware remains a top threat, with attacks costing businesses an average of over 4 million euros. Immutable storage is your last line of defense. Our platform includes S3 Object Lock, which prevents any file from being altered or deleted for a user-defined period. This creates a virtual air gap, rendering ransomware encryption attempts useless against your locked backups. You can use two modes for data retention:
Compliance Mode: This is the highest level of protection, where no user, not even a root account, can alter or delete the object until the retention period expires. It is ideal for meeting strict regulatory requirements like SEC Rule 17a-4.
Governance Mode: This mode allows users with special permissions to override the lock settings, offering more flexibility for internal data governance policies while still protecting against accidental deletion.
This feature is essential for maintaining auditable, compliant archives under GDPR and other regulations. It is a core component of any effective cloud storage API strategy.
Prepare for 2025 EU Regulations Today
The European regulatory landscape is evolving, and your storage provider must be ready. Two key regulations for 2025 are the EU Data Act and NIS-2. The EU Data Act, applicable from September 2025, mandates data portability and interoperability to prevent vendor lock-in. Our platform is built on open standards, ensuring you can always move your data, including all metadata and versions, without penalty. The NIS-2 directive requires continuous security processes and supply-chain assurance for critical infrastructure. Our operations, confined to certified EU data centers, are designed to meet these stringent security and reporting timelines from day one. Choosing a compliant provider now turns regulatory readiness into a competitive advantage.
Enable Channel Partners with a Predictable and Scalable Platform
More Links
German Data Protection Conference (DSK) provides a PDF document detailing data protection aspects of cloud computing.
German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) offers statistics on cloud computing usage within companies.
European Commission outlines the EU's policies and strategies concerning cloud computing services.
Bitkom provides its Cloud Report 2024, offering charts and analysis on the state of cloud computing in Germany.
European Data Protection Board (EDPB) offers privacy recommendations for public sector cloud service usage.
Eco – Association of the Internet Industry presents a study on digital resilience in Europe, the EuroCloud Pulse Check 2025.
