Cloud Storage
S3 Compatible
SRA compliant storage
Achieve SRA Compliance With Sovereign Cloud Storage
For UK law firms, meeting the SRA’s strict confidentiality standards is non-negotiable. Using cloud storage subject to non-EU laws introduces significant compliance risks. Discover how a sovereign, EU-based storage solution provides the security and control required for SRA compliance.
Key Takeaways
SRA-compliant storage requires data to be stored exclusively within a secure, EU-governed jurisdiction to protect client confidentiality from foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act.
Features like immutable storage (Object Lock) are essential for defending against ransomware and creating the unalterable audit trails required by the SRA.
A predictable pricing model with no egress or API fees allows law firms and MSPs to adopt compliant storage without facing unexpected costs, ensuring financial stability.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) mandates that UK law firms protect client confidentiality under all circumstances. This creates a challenge when using cloud storage, as data can be exposed to foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act, creating a direct conflict with SRA principles. SRA-compliant storage requires a new approach—one grounded in digital sovereignty. European providers operating exclusively in EU data centers offer a solution that aligns with SRA, GDPR, and NIS-2 requirements. This ensures data remains under EU legal protection, providing the foundation for modern, compliant legal work.
Define SRA Storage Compliance Beyond Confidentiality
The SRA Code of Conduct requires firms to keep client affairs confidential, a duty the courts have described as unqualified. This obligation extends beyond simple privacy; it involves ensuring data is not subject to laws that could compel its disclosure, a risk with providers under non-EU jurisdiction. Over 84% of European organizations are now planning to use sovereign cloud solutions to mitigate such risks. SRA-compliant storage is therefore defined by its legal and geographical jurisdiction. Storing data in certified EU data centers provides a direct line to GDPR alignment, a core component of the SRA’s expectations. This jurisdictional control is the first step toward building a compliant data strategy.
Implement Geofencing for Absolute Data Residency
True SRA compliance demands certainty about where data resides, processing over 100% of it within a defined region. Impossible Cloud provides country-level geofencing, ensuring client data stays within specific European borders, fully governed by EU law. This eliminates the ambiguity associated with global cloud providers whose infrastructure spans multiple legal jurisdictions. For UK firms, this offers a clear advantage for UK GDPR compliance and data sovereignty. This level of control is essential for regulated industries, especially financial services, where data location is under constant scrutiny. Geofencing provides the technical enforcement needed to back up legal compliance claims.
Leverage Immutability for Ransomware Defence and Audits
The SRA expects firms to have robust systems to protect client data and assets, a requirement tested by the 34% rise in ransomware attacks. Immutable storage, or Object Lock, makes data unchangeable for a set period, creating a tamper-proof copy for recovery. This feature is critical for two reasons:
It provides a guaranteed clean recovery point, neutralizing ransomware threats.
It creates an auditable, unalterable record of client data, simplifying compliance checks.
This makes immutable backups a cornerstone of modern SRA-compliant storage. By integrating with tools like NovaBackup, firms can automate the creation of these secure backups, ensuring their data security posture meets regulatory standards. This proactive defence is a key theme in upcoming NIS-2 supply chain security rules.
Align with EU Regulations to Future-Proof Compliance
SRA compliance does not exist in a vacuum; it is part of a wider European regulatory landscape. Storing data in EU-only data centers inherently aligns with multiple frameworks. The German BSI C5 standard, for example, provides a benchmark for cloud security that is increasingly adopted across the EU. Furthermore, the EU Data Act, applicable from September 2025, mandates data portability to prevent vendor lock-in. An S3-compatible platform with no egress fees meets this requirement by design. Choosing a European provider ensures a firm is prepared for these evolving standards, turning regulatory readiness into a competitive advantage and ensuring full compliance with EU rules.
Achieve Predictable Costs for Defensible Margins
For MSPs serving the legal sector, unpredictable cloud costs erode margins and complicate client billing. Many cloud providers charge egress fees and API call costs, which can increase a bill by over 50%. Impossible Cloud’s model is predictable by design: zero egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage duration. This transparency allows MSPs to offer SRA-compliant storage solutions with stable, defensible margins. With UK distribution now available through Northamber plc, partners have local access to a platform built for their economic success. This financial predictability is as important as technical compliance.
Secure Data with an Architecture Built for Zero Trust
An effective SRA-compliant storage strategy requires an architecture that eliminates single points of failure and enforces strict access controls. Impossible Cloud’s platform is built on several key security principles:
Multi-layer encryption: All data is encrypted both in transit and at rest.
Identity-based IAM: Granular, role-driven policies are managed with MFA and RBAC.
“Always-Hot” Access: All data is immediately accessible, avoiding restore delays that can disrupt legal proceedings.
EU-Controlled Key Management: Encryption keys are managed under EU jurisdiction, preventing foreign-compelled access.
This comprehensive approach, which aligns with ENISA recommendations, ensures that security is not an afterthought. It provides the robust foundation needed to protect sensitive client information against all threats.
More Links
German Data Protection Conference provides a PDF document concerning cloud computing.
Wikipedia offers a comprehensive overview of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
FAQ
How does geofencing help with SRA compliance?
Geofencing ensures that client data is physically stored within a specific country or region, such as the EU. This provides legal certainty that the data is subject only to EU laws like GDPR, directly supporting the SRA's requirement to maintain client confidentiality and avoid exposure to foreign jurisdictions.
What is immutable storage, and why is it important for law firms?
Immutable storage, or Object Lock, prevents data from being altered or deleted for a specified period. For law firms, this is critical for creating tamper-proof archives for audit purposes and for ensuring a clean, uncorrupted copy of data is available for recovery after a ransomware attack.
Does S3 compatibility help with SRA compliance?
Yes, indirectly. Full S3 API compatibility ensures that law firms can migrate to an SRA-compliant storage solution without rewriting existing applications or backup scripts. This simplifies the transition, reduces risk, and allows firms to continue using their preferred backup and archiving tools seamlessly.
How does a 'no egress fee' model benefit legal practices?
A 'no egress fee' model provides cost predictability, which is vital for budgeting and client billing. It also ensures firms can retrieve their data at any time without financial penalty, supporting data portability requirements under the EU Data Act and preventing vendor lock-in.
Is Impossible Cloud suitable for MSPs serving the legal sector?
Yes. Impossible Cloud is partner-ready, offering a multi-tenant console, automation via API/CLI, and predictable margins due to its zero-fee structure. With UK distribution through Northamber plc, MSPs can easily provide SRA-compliant storage solutions to their legal clients.
How does Impossible Cloud align with the upcoming EU Data Act?
The EU Data Act, effective September 2025, mandates data portability. Impossible Cloud's use of the standard S3 API and its policy of no egress fees ensure that clients can move their data freely, preventing the vendor lock-in that the Act is designed to combat.
