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Backblaze UK limitations
Addressing Backblaze UK Limitations: Why Sovereign Cloud Is the Solution
UK businesses using US-based cloud storage face significant challenges, including exposure to the US CLOUD Act and unpredictable egress fees. These limitations undermine GDPR compliance and create unacceptable financial risks. A true European sovereign cloud offers a secure, predictable, and compliant alternative.
Key Takeaways
US-based cloud providers, even with EU data centers, expose UK businesses to the US CLOUD Act, creating a significant GDPR compliance risk.
Hidden egress fees and API call charges from providers like Backblaze create unpredictable costs, whereas a zero-egress model ensures financial predictability.
A sovereign, EU-based cloud offers a compliant, secure, and cost-effective alternative, aligning with current UK needs and future EU regulations like the Data Act and NIS-2.
Many UK IT leaders believe selecting a European data centre region from a US provider solves their data sovereignty needs. However, this overlooks a critical risk: a provider's country of origin dictates legal jurisdiction. For any US-headquartered company, the CLOUD Act grants US authorities potential access to your data, regardless of its location . This creates a direct conflict with GDPR principles. Furthermore, unpredictable operational costs, driven by egress fees charged by over 56% of providers, complicate financial planning . This article explores these Backblaze UK limitations and presents a sovereign, EU-based alternative designed for control and predictability.
Mitigate Jurisdictional Risk from the US CLOUD Act
The primary limitation for UK businesses using US-owned cloud storage is jurisdictional exposure. The US CLOUD Act of 2018 allows US authorities to compel tech companies to provide data, even when it is stored in European data centres , . This creates a fundamental challenge for UK data controllers who are bound by GDPR. Even if a provider has an EU data centre, critical metadata often resides in the US, and physical media restores may be processed there . This means your UK data is never fully isolated from US jurisdiction. A truly sovereign cloud, operated by a European company in European data centres, eliminates this risk entirely. Our commitment to data sovereignty ensures your data is governed exclusively by EU law. This legal certainty is the only way to guarantee compliance and protect your business from foreign data requests.
Eliminate Unpredictable Costs with a Zero-Egress Fee Model
Beyond legal risks, financial unpredictability is a major operational burden. Many cloud providers charge significant egress fees, with costs ranging from $0.05 to $0.12 per GB to move your own data . Research shows these planned and unplanned egress charges account for an average of 6% of an organization's total cloud storage costs . These hidden fees make budgeting for data restores or migrations nearly impossible. Impossible Cloud was built on a principle of cost predictability. We offer a transparent pricing model with zero egress fees, no API call charges, and no minimum storage durations. This model allows UK businesses and especially MSPs to build services with predictable margins. Over 94% of customers at some alternative providers avoided egress fees entirely in 2024, showcasing the power of a different economic model . This approach transforms your total cost of ownership and removes the financial penalties for accessing your own data.
Enhance Performance with an 'Always-Hot' Architecture
Architectural choices directly impact performance and operational complexity. Many providers rely on tiered storage, which can introduce delays and unexpected fees when you need to restore archived data. An 'Always-Hot' object storage model ensures 100% of your data is immediately accessible without tier-restore delays. This simplifies operations for your IT team of 5 or more and guarantees that third-party backup and recovery tools function without API timeouts. Fragile tiering policies often lead to restore failures and hidden operational costs. Our architecture is built for consistency and availability, using multi-AZ replication to protect data integrity under any workload. For robust ransomware protection, we include S3-compatible Immutable Storage and Object Lock. This write-once-read-many (WORM) model makes your backup data tamper-proof, neutralizing encryption attempts from threat actors .
Future-Proof Your Compliance with EU-Native Regulations
The European regulatory landscape is continuously evolving to strengthen data rights and security. Two key regulations highlight the advantage of using an EU-native provider. The EU Data Act, fully applicable from September 2025, is designed to prevent vendor lock-in by enforcing data portability , . It mandates that providers must facilitate switching, a principle at odds with business models that rely on high egress fees. A provider with a 'no egress fee' policy is already aligned with the spirit of this law. Additionally, the NIS-2 Directive expands cybersecurity obligations, requiring stricter risk management and incident reporting, especially for MSPs and their supply chains . An EU-based provider builds its services around these regulations from the ground up. This proactive alignment with upcoming mandates like the EU Data Act ensures your business remains compliant without costly future adjustments. Choosing a European partner is a strategic decision to stay ahead of the regulatory curve.
Empower UK MSPs with a Partner-Ready Platform
For UK Managed Service Providers, the limitations of US providers directly impact profitability and client trust. A predictable cost model is essential for building sustainable Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and Disaster-Recovery-as-a-Service (DRaaS) offerings. Our 'Predictable by Design' approach gives MSPs stable, defensible margins. We provide a partner-ready platform with key features for channel success. Here is what UK MSPs can expect:
A multi-tenant console for streamlined client management.
Full automation capabilities via a 100% S3-compatible API and CLI.
Granular reporting for billing and compliance.
Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) and MFA for enhanced security.
We are committed to the UK channel, demonstrated by our 2025 partnership with our first UK distributor, Northamber plc. This local presence, combined with integrations with leaders like NovaBackup, provides the ecosystem UK MSPs need to deliver sovereign and compliant data solutions. This focus helps you easily migrate client data and build higher-value services.
Execute a Seamless Migration to Sovereign Storage
Moving from a US-based provider to a sovereign cloud is a straightforward process with the right partner. Full S3 API compatibility is the most critical element, as it ensures your existing tools, scripts, and applications continue to work without modification, protecting your investment of thousands of pounds. This compatibility minimizes migration risk and reduces engineering effort by over 80%. Our platform supports not just basic object operations but also advanced capabilities like versioning and lifecycle management. We provide a clear path to achieve data freedom and sovereignty. Talk to an expert today to plan your migration and start a free trial to experience the performance and predictability of a true European cloud.
More Links
Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provides tables on the use of cloud computing in enterprises in Germany.
Bitkom offers its Cloud Report 2024.
Data Protection Conference (DSK) presents a position paper on criteria for sovereign clouds.
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action provides an article on cloud computing.
Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action issued a press release on the European Commission's approval of a major European cloud project.
Deutsche Bundesbank published a report on digital risks in the banking sector.
FAQ
How does the US CLOUD Act affect my UK business's data?
The US CLOUD Act allows US law enforcement to demand access to data controlled by US-based companies, no matter where it is stored globally. If your cloud provider is a US company, your UK data stored in an EU data center is still subject to these requests, creating a compliance risk with UK and EU privacy laws.
What are egress fees and why do they matter?
Egress fees are charges for transferring data out of a cloud provider's network. They matter because they can significantly increase the cost of restoring backups, moving data to another service, or running hybrid-cloud workloads. A provider with no egress fees offers predictable costs and freedom from vendor lock-in.
Is a European data center the same as a sovereign cloud?
No. A European data center is just a location. A true sovereign cloud is owned, operated, and governed by a European company, ensuring data is exclusively subject to EU laws and shielded from foreign legislation like the US CLOUD Act.
How does Object Lock protect my data from ransomware?
S3-compatible Object Lock creates immutable backups using a Write-Once-Read-Many (WORM) model. This prevents files from being altered or deleted—even by ransomware—for a defined period, ensuring you always have a clean, unencrypted copy of your data available for recovery.
What is the benefit of full S3 API compatibility?
Full S3 API compatibility ensures that all your existing applications, backup software, and management scripts work seamlessly without needing to be rewritten. This dramatically simplifies migration, reduces risk, and protects your previous investments in S3-based workflows.
How does Impossible Cloud support UK channel partners and MSPs?
Impossible Cloud offers a partner-ready platform with a multi-tenant console, full automation via API/CLI, and a predictable pricing model with no egress fees, enabling MSPs to build profitable and compliant BaaS and DRaaS solutions. Our partnership with UK distributor Northamber plc ensures local support for the UK channel.
