Cloud Storage
Object Storage
object storage providers europe
How to Select European Object Storage Providers for Digital Sovereignty in 2025
A majority of EU decision-makers now demand European solutions for their critical data infrastructure. Yet, concerns over performance, security, and hidden costs slow the move away from non-EU providers.
Key Takeawys
Digital sovereignty is a primary driver for choosing European object storage providers, with a majority of EU leaders demanding EU data residency to ensure GDPR compliance and avoid CLOUD Act exposure.
Predictable pricing models with no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations are critical for escaping vendor lock-in and enabling predictable margins for MSPs.
Enterprise-ready providers must offer full S3 API compatibility, immutable storage with Object Lock for ransomware defense, and an 'Always-Hot' architecture for immediate data access.
Choosing from the available object storage providers in Europe requires a modern checklist. With regulations like GDPR, NIS-2, and the EU Data Act becoming stricter by September 2025, digital sovereignty is no longer optional. Many enterprises feel locked into existing providers due to complex pricing and fear migration risks. This guide outlines 7 enterprise-ready criteria for selecting a European object storage partner that delivers compliance, performance, and predictable economics without vendor lock-in, ensuring your data remains under EU control.
Prioritise EU Data Residency and Sovereignty
A strong majority of EU leaders now make EU data residency a key criterion for infrastructure decisions. Storing data exclusively in certified European data centers is the only certain way to avoid CLOUD Act exposure and ensure GDPR compliance. This strategy guarantees that only EU laws govern your data, a concept known as data sovereignty. Choosing a provider with country-level geofencing offers granular control over data placement within predefined EU regions. This approach is critical for regulated industries like financial services, where data location is mandated by law. True sovereignty prepares your organisation for the future of EU regulations.
Demand Predictable Economics Without Hidden Fees
Many organisations feel trapped by complex cloud contracts and unpredictable costs, with egress fees being a primary pain point. A transparent pricing model is a core requirement, eliminating at least 3 major hidden costs. Look for providers who guarantee zero egress fees, zero API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This model provides the economic clarity needed to switch providers with confidence. For MSPs and resellers, this predictability is foundational, allowing for stable, defensible margins on Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions. A cost-efficient S3 storage model should be simple. This financial transparency is the first step toward reducing long-term dependency.
Verify Enterprise-Grade S3 API Compatibility
Full S3 API compatibility is essential for a seamless transition and continued operations, protecting your past investments in tools and training. An enterprise-ready provider ensures existing apps, scripts, and backup tools continue working with zero code rewrites. This goes beyond basic operations to include advanced capabilities.
Key S3 features to verify include:
Object Versioning and Lifecycle Management
Immutable Storage with Object Lock
IAM with Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) and Role-Based Access Control (RBAC)
Event Notifications and Object Tagging
Support for common SDKs and the CLI
This level of compatibility minimises migration risk by over 90% and keeps your existing data pipelines running. Out-of-the-box integrations, like the collaboration with backup provider NovaBackup, demonstrate a provider's commitment to the ecosystem. This focus on interoperability ensures your architecture remains flexible and future-proof.
Implement a Resilient Ransomware Defense Strategy
Ransomware attacks increasingly target backup data to prevent recovery, making immutable storage a critical defense layer. Using S3 Object Lock, you can make backups unchangeable for a defined period, creating a tamper-proof copy for disaster recovery. This feature is a core component of modern 3-2-1 or 4-2-2 backup strategies. An effective ransomware posture combines immutability with multi-layer encryption, both in transit and at rest. A provider should also offer robust Identity and Access Management (IAM) to prevent unauthorised access or deletion. This ensures that even if primary systems are compromised, your EU-based S3 backups remain secure and restorable. This security-first approach is fundamental to operational resilience.
Ensure Readiness for 2025 EU Regulations
Two major EU regulations will reshape data governance from September 2025, making regulatory readiness a competitive advantage. Choosing compliant cloud object storage providers is now a board-level concern. These providers must demonstrate built-in compliance, not as an afterthought.
Organisations must prepare for 2 key directives:
The EU Data Act: This regulation mandates data portability and interoperability, requiring providers to offer a real exit path. It ensures you can move all data, including metadata and versions, without lock-in.
NIS-2 Directive: This directive demands continuous security processes, including supply-chain assurance, vulnerability management, and strict incident reporting timelines.
A sovereign provider aligns with these rules by design, simplifying your compliance burden. This proactive stance on regulation builds a foundation of trust and legal certainty.
Adopt an 'Always-Hot' Architecture Over Tiering
Complex storage tiering often creates more problems than it solves, with 100% of data needing to be available instantly during a restore. An 'Always-Hot' object storage model ensures all data is immediately accessible without restore delays or surprise retrieval fees. This architecture eliminates the operational fragility of tiering policies, which can fail during urgent restores or clash with analytics workloads. This model reduces operational complexity by at least 50% by avoiding API timeouts and hidden costs associated with data retrieval. For use cases like backup, archiving, and disaster recovery, immediate access is non-negotiable. This simplified, high-performance approach keeps your third-party tools and applications stable and predictable, especially under load.
Evaluate Partner-Ready Capabilities for the Channel
Secure Your Exit Strategy from Day One
The final test for any of the object storage providers in Europe is the freedom to leave. An exit strategy preserves your long-term negotiation power and operational freedom. This is achieved through a provider's commitment to open standards, exportable data formats, and proven processes for bulk data movement. The EU Data Act reinforces this by mandating portability, making lock-in a thing of the past. By choosing a provider that is sovereign by design, you ensure your data remains under your control, fully compliant with GDPR and other EU regulations. To take the next step toward digital sovereignty, talk to an expert about your use case. Start a free trial to experience the benefits firsthand.
More Links
The German Data Protection Conference (DSK) provides a position paper outlining criteria for sovereign clouds.
The European Commission describes its European Data Strategy, a key initiative to create a single market for data.
Gaia-X is a project aiming to develop a federated, open, and secure data infrastructure for Europe.
Bitkom, a German association for IT, telecommunications and new media, offers a cloud report with data about cloud usage and trends.
EuroCloud Deutschland_eco e.V. is an association promoting cloud computing in Germany.
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) details a coordinated enforcement action regarding cloud-based services in the public sector.
