Cloud Storage
Object Storage
impossible cloud big data object storage solutions
Achieve Digital Sovereignty with Enterprise-Grade Big Data Object Storage
Your big data strategy demands performance, but EU regulations and the US CLOUD Act introduce significant compliance risks. A new approach to object storage, built exclusively in Europe, offers a clear path to digital sovereignty and cost predictability.
The topic briefly and concisely
True digital sovereignty requires a 100% European-owned and operated cloud provider to legally shield data from non-EU laws like the US CLOUD Act.
Eliminating egress and API fees provides predictable costs for big data workloads, preventing the budget overruns that affect over 50% of European firms.
Immutable storage with S3 Object Lock is a critical last line of defense against ransomware, protecting backups from deletion and ensuring rapid recovery.
Enterprises across the UK and Europe are navigating a complex challenge: leveraging big data while ensuring compliance with GDPR, NIS-2, and the upcoming EU Data Act. Many cloud storage solutions create unacceptable risks, with over 72% of businesses now prioritising data sovereignty. Non-EU providers expose data to foreign laws like the US CLOUD Act, regardless of the data center's location. Furthermore, unpredictable egress and API fees cause 56% of European firms to exceed their cloud budgets. This article outlines a strategy for deploying Impossible Cloud big data object storage solutions that are sovereign by design, economically predictable, and enterprise-ready for the regulatory landscape of 2025 and beyond.
Eliminate CLOUD Act Exposure with True European Sovereignty
Storing data in an EU data center is not a sufficient safeguard against foreign jurisdiction. The US CLOUD Act of 2018 allows U.S. authorities to compel American companies to provide data, even if it resides in the EU. This creates a direct conflict with GDPR, which protects the data of over 448 million EU citizens.
A truly sovereign solution requires a 100% European-owned and operated provider. This architecture legally insulates your data from non-EU government access requests. Our secure object storage operates exclusively in certified European data centers with country-level geofencing.
This design choice removes the legal ambiguity that affects 70% of the European cloud market dominated by non-EU companies. By choosing a provider with no legal ties to the U.S., you achieve genuine digital sovereignty. This jurisdictional clarity is the only way to guarantee compliance and control over your critical data assets.
Achieve Cost Predictability by Eliminating Egress and API Fees
Unpredictable fees are a primary driver of budget overruns for big data operations. In Europe, storage fees account for nearly 47% of all cloud billing expenses, pushing many IT initiatives off schedule. These costs, particularly for data egress and API calls, penalize businesses for using their own data.
Our pricing model is transparent by design, featuring zero egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This aligns with the EU Data Act, which will ban profit-generating egress fees by January 12, 2027, to reduce vendor lock-in. This approach can prevent the budget excess experienced by 66% of organizations in Germany alone.
This economic clarity allows for precise financial planning for your big data object storage. You can move petabytes of data for backup, disaster recovery, or analytics without facing punitive charges, ensuring your total cost of ownership is both low and predictable.
Deploy an Enterprise-Ready Architecture Built for Performance
Modern big data workloads demand consistent performance and accessibility, which complex storage tiers often fail to provide. An "Always-Hot" object storage model ensures all data is immediately accessible with no tier-restore delays. This reduces operational complexity for the 90% of firms citing fee-related issues as a cause for budget excess.
Our platform is built for consistency and scale, offering full S3-API compatibility to protect your existing investments. Here is how it supports enterprise needs:
Full support for advanced S3 capabilities like versioning and lifecycle management.
Strong read/write consistency for mixed workloads, from millions of small files to large archives.
An architecture that eliminates single points of failure through multi-AZ replication.
Out-of-the-box integrations with leading backup tools like Veeam and NovaBackup.
This approach avoids the hidden operational costs and API timeouts common with tiered systems. Your scalable object storage systems keep pipelines running without code rewrites, ensuring stability for your most critical applications.
Implement Unbreakable Ransomware Defense with Immutable Storage
Ransomware attacks are becoming more sophisticated, with 93% of attacks now targeting backup repositories to force a payout. Immutable storage with S3 Object Lock provides a last line of defense. It prevents data from being altered or deleted by anyone, including administrators, for a defined retention period.
This feature is critical for protecting backup and archive data, ensuring you always have a clean copy for recovery. In one study, 80% of organizations experienced a ransomware attack in a single year. Immutable backups ensure you can restore operations quickly without paying a ransom.
Our enterprise object storage solutions include Object Lock as a core feature. This helps you build a resilient ransomware posture and meet strict data integrity rules under regulations like GDPR and HIPAA. This protection is essential for maintaining business continuity in an environment of escalating cyber threats.
Future-Proof Your Strategy for NIS-2 and the EU Data Act
The European regulatory landscape is evolving, with two key directives set to impact all businesses. Impossible Cloud is designed to meet these future compliance requirements today. The first is the NIS-2 Directive, which expands cybersecurity obligations to over 30,000 companies in Germany alone.
NIS-2 mandates strict supply-chain security and risk management, holding management personally liable for non-compliance. Our EU-sovereign platform helps you meet these requirements for your storage infrastructure. Here are the key regulatory advantages:
EU Data Act Readiness: The Act, applying from September 2025, mandates data portability to prevent vendor lock-in. Our open standards and no-egress-fee model ensure you have a practical exit path.
NIS-2 Compliance: We provide robust security, including multi-layer encryption and IAM with MFA, to help you secure your supply chain.
GDPR Alignment: By keeping all data and metadata within the EU, we simplify GDPR compliance for data residency.
Using our secure big data object storage gives you a competitive advantage. You can demonstrate regulatory readiness to auditors and partners before the 2025 deadlines arrive. This proactive stance reduces risk and builds trust with your customers.
Enable Channel Partners with Predictable Margins and Management
For Managed Service Providers (MSPs), resellers, and system integrators, profitability depends on predictable costs. Our partner-ready platform is designed to deliver stable, defensible margins for Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions. The complete absence of egress and API fees is a key enabler of this predictability.
We provide a comprehensive partner console with multi-tenant management, role-based access control (RBAC), and detailed reporting. Automation via a full-featured API and CLI allows for seamless integration into existing MSP workflows. Fast onboarding ensures partners can begin offering sovereign storage solutions to their clients in under 24 hours.
Our distribution momentum continues to grow across Europe, with partners like api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK expanding local access. This growing ecosystem provides the tools and support needed to deliver high-value advanced data object storage solutions to a market that increasingly demands digital sovereignty. Talk to an expert to learn more about our partner program.
Additional useful links
Statista offers statistics on the proportion of companies utilizing big data.
Statistisches Bundesamt (Destatis) provides an interactive graphic on Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and big data analytics.
European Parliament offers a briefing on digital sovereignty for Europe.
European Commission details its 'Digital Decade' goals for 2030.
Bundesministerium für Digitales und Verkehr (BMDV) provides information on the German Federal Government's digital strategy.
KPMG offers its Cloud Monitor 2022 report, providing insights into cloud adoption and trends.
FAQ
Is your object storage solution fully compatible with the S3 API?
Yes, we offer full S3-API compatibility. This ensures your existing applications, scripts, and tools that use the S3 protocol will work seamlessly without any code rewrites, protecting your investments and minimizing migration risk.
How do you ensure data sovereignty and GDPR compliance?
We are a European company that operates exclusively in certified European data centers. All data, including metadata, is geofenced within specific EU countries, ensuring it is governed solely by EU law and protected from extraterritorial legislation like the US CLOUD Act.
What is your pricing model? Are there any hidden costs?
Our pricing is transparent and predictable. We charge only for the storage you use, with no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations. This eliminates the hidden fees that cause budget overruns with other providers.
How does your solution protect against ransomware?
We provide Immutable Storage using S3 Object Lock. This feature allows you to make your data unchangeable and undeletable for a specified period, providing a robust defense against ransomware attacks that target backups.
Is this solution suitable for Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?
Absolutely. Our platform is partner-ready with a multi-tenant console, RBAC, automation via API/CLI, and predictable pricing that guarantees stable margins for BaaS and archiving services. We also have established distribution channels in Germany and the UK.
What do you mean by an "Always-Hot" storage model?
An "Always-Hot" model means all your data is immediately accessible at high performance, without the delays or retrieval fees associated with tiered storage (hot, cool, cold). This simplifies operations and ensures your data is always ready for urgent restores or analytics.
