European Cloud
Sovereign Cloud
modernising cloud infrastructure UK
Modernising UK Cloud Infrastructure for Sovereignty and Predictable Costs
UK IT leaders face a dual challenge: managing spiraling cloud costs while ensuring data sovereignty. Over 67% expect cloud costs to rise, and 95% are concerned about data sovereignty. This article outlines a strategic approach to modernising cloud infrastructure for control and predictability.
Key Takeaways
Modernising UK cloud infrastructure requires a focus on digital sovereignty, with 61% of IT leaders now making it a strategic priority to mitigate geopolitical and regulatory risks.
Eliminating unpredictable costs from egress and API fees is crucial; a transparent pricing model provides financial stability and prevents the vendor lock-in that affects 36% of companies.
An enterprise-ready architecture with 'Always-Hot' S3-compatible storage and immutable backups (Object Lock) ensures high performance and provides a robust defence against ransomware.
Modernising cloud infrastructure in the UK is no longer just about performance; it's a strategic imperative driven by cost, compliance, and control. With 61% of UK IT leaders now viewing data sovereignty as a strategic priority, the reliance on non-EU providers presents significant risks. Unpredictable egress fees and complex pricing models strain budgets, causing 68% of businesses to cut spending in other IT areas. This guide details a modern approach using EU-based, S3-compatible object storage to solve these challenges, delivering financial predictability and digital sovereignty by design.
Prioritise Digital Sovereignty to Mitigate Risk
A majority of UK IT leaders, 83% in fact, worry about geopolitical events impacting their data access. True digital sovereignty means your data is subject only to the laws of the jurisdiction where it is stored. Storing data within certified European data centers provides UK businesses with EU legal certainty. This approach directly addresses the 93% of IT leaders concerned with data residency.
This strategy is crucial for avoiding extraterritorial laws like the U.S. CLOUD Act. Over 52% of UK IT decision-makers are already planning to move away from US-based cloud providers. Using a European provider with country-level geofencing ensures your data remains under EU rules. This gives you 100% control over data governance. This focus on sovereignty is why UK firms can maintain continuous digital transformation.
For regulated industries like financial services, EU data residency is a primary compliance requirement. It helps meet stringent UK GDPR and EU GDPR obligations seamlessly. This clear legal framework is a key reason why 42% of organisations see sovereignty as a business asset. Adopting a sovereign-by-design strategy prepares your infrastructure for the future.
Eliminate Unpredictable Costs and Vendor Lock-In
Unpredictable cloud costs are a major barrier to innovation, with 20% of organisations finding them unmanageable. The primary culprits are often hidden charges like egress fees and API call costs. These fees can increase a project's cost by over 10% when moving data.
A modern cloud strategy eliminates these variables entirely. Choose a provider with a transparent model: zero egress fees, zero API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This approach provides up to 100% cost predictability for your storage budget. This transparency is the foundation of a healthy cloud budget.
Vendor lock-in is a direct result of punitive exit fees, trapping 36% of companies in inflexible contracts. The upcoming EU Data Act, effective from September 2025, mandates easier switching and phases out these charges. A provider already committed to zero egress fees aligns your business with this future standard 2 years early. This proactive stance is key to avoiding vendor lock-in. This financial freedom allows for better long-term planning.
Build on an Enterprise-Ready, High-Performance Architecture
Modern data workloads demand consistent performance and immediate access. An “Always-Hot” object storage model ensures 100% of your data is accessible without tier-restore delays. This simplifies operations for thousands of IT teams compared to complex tiering policies. It also prevents the API timeouts that disrupt third-party backup and recovery tools.
Full S3-API compatibility is essential for a seamless transition. This protects your past investments in scripts and applications, reducing migration risk to near zero. Your teams can continue using the tools they already know, like the AWS CLI and S3 SDKs. This compatibility should cover advanced capabilities for at least 15 different S3 actions.
A resilient architecture eliminates single points of failure. It provides strong read/write consistency and predictable latencies for millions of files. This ensures data integrity for every workload pattern. This level of reliability is central to any innovative storage architecture. Such a robust foundation supports scalable and future-proof operations.
Implement Ransomware-Proof Data Protection
Ransomware attacks increasingly target backups to prevent recovery, making immutable storage a critical defence. The UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) advises that backups must be resilient to destructive actions. Immutable Storage, using S3 Object Lock, makes data unchangeable for a set period, providing 100% protection against deletion or modification.
This feature is a cornerstone of a modern 3-2-1 or 4-2-2 backup strategy. It creates a verifiable, air-gapped-style copy of your data that attackers cannot compromise. Here is how to structure a resilient backup plan:
Create at least 3 copies of your data.
Store the copies on 2 different media types.
Keep 1 of these copies offsite.
Ensure 1 copy is offline or immutable.
Object Lock provides the audit-ready retention needed for compliance. Multi-layer encryption, both in-transit and at-rest, adds another layer of defence. This security-first approach is vital for your hybrid cloud strategy. This prepares you to recover from an attack in minutes, not days.
Future-Proof Your Strategy with Regulatory Readiness
For UK businesses serving EU customers, aligning with upcoming EU regulations is a competitive advantage. The NIS-2 Directive, which expands its scope in 2025, mandates stricter cybersecurity measures for digital infrastructure providers. This includes supply-chain assurance and incident reporting within 24 hours. A compliant provider builds these processes into their core operations.
The EU Data Act, effective September 2025, champions data portability to fight vendor lock-in. It requires providers to facilitate seamless data transfers, including all metadata, to a new service. A provider with full S3 compatibility and no egress fees already meets the spirit of this law over 1 year ahead of schedule. This readiness demonstrates a commitment to open standards.
These regulations require a proactive approach to compliance. Here are key readiness steps:
Verify your cloud provider operates exclusively in certified EU data centers.
Confirm they offer robust IAM with MFA and support for external IdPs via SAML/OIDC.
Ensure Immutable Object Lock is available for audit-ready retention.
Review contracts to ensure they support data portability and have no hidden exit fees.
This focus on compliance simplifies multi-cloud management. It ensures your infrastructure remains compliant as regulations evolve.
Accelerate Growth with a Partner-Ready Platform
For UK Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and resellers, predictable margins are essential for growth. A cloud storage partner with zero egress or API fees allows you to build BaaS and archiving services with stable costs. This model can improve margins by over 20% compared to hyperscaler alternatives.
A partner-ready platform provides the tools needed to operate efficiently at scale. This includes a multi-tenant console with role-based access control (RBAC) and MFA for hundreds of clients. Full automation via API and CLI allows for seamless integration into existing management and billing systems. This simplifies onboarding and reduces operational overhead by at least 30%.
Impossible Cloud is expanding its UK channel presence through its first UK distributor, Northamber plc. This partnership provides local access and support for hundreds of UK resellers and MSPs. With fast onboarding and dedicated support, partners can deploy sovereign and compliant cloud solutions in under 24 hours. This momentum helps partners better plan their cloud spend optimisation. Now is the time to build services on a predictable and sovereign foundation. Talk to an expert to learn more.
More Links
UK Government offers a guide for the public sector on adopting cloud services.
UK Government provides a cloud strategy document outlining its approach to cloud adoption.
UK Government presents its digital strategy, detailing plans for digital transformation and innovation.
techUK offers insights into the implications of data sovereignty for the UK public sector.
KPMG provides an article discussing cloud cost optimization strategies.
FAQ
What is S3-compatible object storage?
S3-compatible object storage is a storage service that uses the same API as Amazon's Simple Storage Service (S3). This allows you to use the same tools, applications, and scripts you would use with AWS S3 without needing to rewrite code, ensuring a seamless migration and operational continuity.
How does geofencing improve data compliance?
Geofencing improves data compliance by ensuring that data is stored exclusively within a predefined geographic region, such as a specific country or the EU. This helps UK businesses meet data residency requirements like GDPR and ensures data is not subject to the laws of other jurisdictions.
What are the benefits of an 'Always-Hot' storage model?
The 'Always-Hot' storage model ensures all data is immediately accessible without any delays or restore fees associated with tiered storage (e.g., cool or archive tiers). This simplifies operations, improves performance for applications that need rapid data access, and makes recovery times faster and more predictable.
Can I use my existing backup tools with Impossible Cloud?
Yes. Impossible Cloud offers full S3-API compatibility, which means it has out-of-the-box integrations with leading backup tools like Veeam and NovaBackup. You can connect your existing backup software by simply changing the endpoint to the Impossible Cloud service.
What support is available for MSPs and channel partners in the UK?
Impossible Cloud provides dedicated support for its UK partners, including access through its distributor, Northamber plc. Partners get access to a multi-tenant management console, automation tools via API/CLI, transparent pricing for predictable margins, and fast onboarding support.
