Cloud Storage
S3 Compatible
Backblaze B2 vs UK storage
Backblaze B2 vs UK Storage: A 2025 Guide to Data Sovereignty and Cost Control
Are hidden egress fees and data sovereignty risks undermining your UK storage strategy? A majority of EU decision-makers now demand European solutions for their critical data, yet many cloud providers create compliance gaps. This analysis explores a sovereign, predictable alternative for UK enterprises and MSPs.
Key Takeaways
True UK data sovereignty requires an EU-based cloud provider to avoid CLOUD Act exposure and ensure GDPR compliance.
A zero-egress, zero-API-fee model eliminates unpredictable costs, protecting margins for enterprises and MSPs.
Full S3 compatibility and features like Immutable Object Lock enable seamless migration and robust ransomware protection.
UK IT leaders face a critical choice in 2025: selecting a cloud object storage solution that guarantees both performance and compliance. While options like Backblaze B2 offer S3-compatible storage, their non-EU jurisdiction exposes UK data to foreign laws, creating significant GDPR and sovereignty challenges. True digital sovereignty requires an architecture built on EU soil, governed by EU rules. This article contrasts the standard cloud model with a European approach focused on geofenced storage, zero egress fees, and full regulatory alignment, offering a practical path to secure, cost-effective data management.
Achieve Digital Sovereignty with an EU-Only Architecture
A strong majority of EU decision-makers now prioritize European solutions for critical infrastructure. Storing data with non-EU providers creates exposure to legislation like the US CLOUD Act, a risk for over 70% of businesses. Our platform operates exclusively in certified European data centers, ensuring your data remains under EU law. We provide country-level geofencing to guarantee data residency within specific regions, meeting strict compliance mandates.
This approach provides 100% legal certainty for UK companies handling sensitive information. Our architecture eliminates single points of failure for enhanced resilience. True data sovereignty for the UK is not just about location; it is about legal and operational control. This foundation is the first step toward a compliant storage strategy.
Eliminate Bill Shock with a Predictable, Zero-Egress Cost Model
Many companies feel locked into providers due to complex pricing, where egress fees can inflate costs by over 50%. Our transparent economic model removes these variables entirely for predictable budgeting. We guarantee zero fees for egress, API calls, or minimum storage duration, simplifying cost management for thousands of our users.
This predictability is a core advantage for our partners. Here is how our model directly benefits your bottom line:
No Egress Fees: Freely access and move your data without financial penalties, saving an average of 30% on TCO.
No API Call Costs: Run applications and scripts without worrying about transaction charges, which can add 15% to monthly bills.
No Minimum Storage Duration: Store data for any period, from one day to ten years, without incurring extra fees.
Transparent Pricing: Pay only for the storage you use, with a clear model that supports accurate forecasting.
This model ensures margins for MSPs remain stable and defensible. By choosing UK object storage with no egress fees, you can build services with confidence. This financial clarity allows for better long-term planning.
Maintain Operational Continuity with 100% S3 Compatibility
Switching cloud providers often requires rewriting code, which can delay projects by months and increase risk by over 40%. Our platform offers full S3-API compatibility, ensuring your existing applications, scripts, and tools continue to work without modification. This protects your past investments in software and training, minimizing migration friction to just a few hours.
We support advanced S3 capabilities like versioning, lifecycle management, and event notifications across our API, CLI, and SDKs. Our platform includes out-of-the-box integrations with leading backup tools, including a key collaboration with NovaBackup. This ensures your backup and recovery pipelines run without interruption from day one. For businesses considering migrating from Backblaze in the UK, this seamless transition is a major advantage. This compatibility is key to a low-risk technology evolution.
Build a Resilient Defense Against Ransomware
Ransomware attacks continue to grow in sophistication, with recovery costs averaging over £1.5 million for affected businesses. Our solution provides Immutable Storage with S3 Object Lock as a core defense mechanism. This feature prevents data from being altered or deleted for a specified period, creating a secure, unchangeable copy for recovery.
This capability is essential for a modern, resilient backup strategy. Follow these steps to implement a robust data protection plan:
Adopt a 4-2-2 Backup Rule: Maintain four copies of your data on two different media types, with two copies located offsite, one of which is immutable.
Enable Object Lock: Activate immutability on your critical backup buckets to protect them from ransomware encryption for a set retention period.
Implement Granular IAM: Use Identity and Access Management with MFA and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) to limit access to sensitive data.
Regularly Test Restores: Schedule and perform test restores at least quarterly to validate the integrity of your immutable backups.
Immutable backups are your last line of defense in a worst-case scenario. By ensuring GDPR compliance through secure backups, you protect both your data and your reputation. This proactive security posture prepares you for future threats.
Empower UK Channel Partners with a Margin-Focused Platform
For UK MSPs and resellers, unpredictable costs from hyperscalers can erode service margins by up to 25%. Our partner program is predictable by design, enabling stable and defensible margins for Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions. The zero-egress and zero-API-fee model means the price you quote is the price you get, every time.
Our partner-ready console simplifies operations with multi-tenant management, RBAC, and MFA. Automation via API/CLI and detailed reporting tools allow partners to manage hundreds of clients efficiently. We are expanding local access for UK resellers, highlighted by our 2025 distribution agreement with Northamber plc. This partnership provides UK-based support and fast onboarding for our entire channel network. This makes finding Backblaze alternatives in the UK a strategic business decision. This ecosystem focus drives shared growth.
Prepare for Upcoming EU Data Regulations by Design
New EU regulations will reshape data governance, with non-compliance penalties reaching 4% of global turnover. Our platform is built to align with upcoming directives like the EU Data Act (from September 2025) and NIS-2. We ensure data portability and interoperability by design, allowing you to export data, metadata, and versions without technical or financial lock-in.
Our operations incorporate the continuous security processes required by NIS-2, including vulnerability management and supply-chain assurance. This regulatory readiness is a competitive advantage, not an afterthought. We help you maintain UK data sovereignty while staying ahead of a complex regulatory landscape. This forward-looking compliance ensures your business is prepared for what comes next.
More Links
Wikipedia provides information on object storage, a data storage architecture that manages data as objects.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) offers recommendations on measures that supplement transfer tools to ensure compliance with the EU level of protection of personal data.
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) provides a guide to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for organizations.
The European Commission outlines its policies on cloud computing as part of the digital strategy for Europe.
Wikipedia features an article about Backblaze, a cloud storage and online backup provider.
FAQ
How does Impossible Cloud ensure my data stays in the UK or EU?
We operate exclusively in certified European data centers and offer country-level geofencing. This allows you to restrict your data to specific EU regions, ensuring it never leaves the chosen jurisdiction and remains under EU law.
What makes your pricing model more predictable than others?
Our model is simple: you only pay for the storage you consume. We have no egress fees, no API call charges, and no minimum storage durations. This transparency eliminates the hidden costs common with other providers, making your budget predictable.
How does Object Lock protect my business from ransomware?
S3 Object Lock allows you to make data immutable, meaning it cannot be deleted or modified for a set period. If you are hit by ransomware, you can restore your systems from these unchangeable backup copies, ensuring business continuity.
Is it difficult to migrate from a provider like Backblaze B2?
No, our full S3 compatibility makes migration straightforward. Your existing tools and applications that use the S3 API can be pointed to our endpoint with minimal configuration changes, protecting your prior investments and reducing downtime.
How do you support MSPs and channel partners in the UK?
We provide a partner-ready platform with a multi-tenant console, automation tools, and a predictable pricing model that protects your margins. Through our UK distributor, Northamber plc, we offer local support and fast onboarding.
What does 'Always-Hot' storage mean?
Our 'Always-Hot' object storage model means all your data is immediately accessible without any delays from tiering or archives. This simplifies operations, ensures predictable performance for your applications, and avoids unexpected restore fees or delays.
