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scalable object storage systems for big data
Future-Proofing Big Data: Why Scalable Object Storage Systems Must Be Sovereign by Design
Managing petabyte-scale data under tightening EU regulations presents a significant challenge. Traditional scalable object storage systems often introduce unpredictable costs and data sovereignty risks. A new approach is needed to align big data strategy with European legal and financial realities.
The topic briefly and concisely
True digital sovereignty for big data requires storage within EU data centers under EU legal jurisdiction, shielding data from foreign laws like the CLOUD Act.
An 'Always-Hot' object storage model simplifies big data operations and reduces costs by eliminating complex tiering and retrieval delays.
A predictable pricing model with zero egress or API fees is critical for managing big data costs and aligns with the EU Data Act's mandate to eliminate switching charges by 2027.
The demand for scalable object storage systems for big data has never been higher, with IoT data alone projected to reach 79.4 zettabytes by 2025. However, for European enterprises, scale cannot come at the cost of compliance or control. Navigating GDPR, the upcoming EU Data Act, and the reach of foreign laws like the CLOUD Act requires a storage foundation built on digital sovereignty. Over 84% of EU decision-makers now see this as a critical factor in vendor selection. This article outlines how a sovereign-by-design object storage architecture provides the performance, predictability, and regulatory alignment necessary to unlock the full value of big data.
Align Big Data Strategy with EU Data Sovereignty
For European businesses, the provider's origin is a top selection criterion for cloud services. Storing data within certified European data centers is no longer optional; it is a baseline requirement for 84% of organizations. True sovereignty, however, goes beyond location to include legal jurisdiction, ensuring data is shielded from foreign laws like the CLOUD Act.
A truly sovereign platform offers country-level geofencing to enforce strict EU data residency. This capability is essential for regulated industries handling sensitive information. It provides the legal certainty that data remains under EU control, a concern for over 50% of public cloud decision-makers. Explore our secure object storage solutions to learn more.
This focus on EU-centric governance is a direct response to market demands. A strong majority of decision-makers want European solutions for their critical infrastructure. Choosing a 100% European provider eliminates the jurisdictional ambiguity that can undermine compliance efforts, even when data is physically stored in the EU. This approach prepares your big data architecture for future regulatory shifts.
Demand S3 Compatibility That Powers Enterprise Workloads
Full S3 API compatibility is a non-negotiable feature for modern, scalable object storage systems for big data. It ensures that years of investment in applications, scripts, and talent remain valuable, reducing migration risk to near zero. Developers can leverage the S3 API to cut application development time by up to 25%.
Enterprise-grade S3 support must extend beyond basic operations. It requires consistent performance for advanced capabilities that big data pipelines rely on. These include:
Object Versioning: Protect against accidental deletion or corruption by keeping multiple variants of an object.
Lifecycle Management: Automate data transition policies without incurring hidden fees or retrieval delays.
Event Notifications: Trigger automated workflows in other services as data is created or modified.
Immutable Storage (Object Lock): Secure data against ransomware by making it unchangeable for a set period.
This level of compatibility ensures that existing backup tools and data management scripts work out of the box. It allows IT leaders to switch providers without rewriting a single line of code, preserving operational continuity. Learn more about our enterprise object storage capabilities.
Adopt an 'Always-Hot' Architecture to Simplify Big Data Access
Complex, tiered storage models create operational fragility for big data workloads. The need to move data between hot, cool, and archive tiers introduces delays, with restore failures and API timeouts impacting analytics and recovery operations. An “Always-Hot” object storage model eliminates this complexity entirely, ensuring all data is immediately accessible with predictable low latency.
This architecture provides strong read/write consistency, which is critical for mixed workloads involving millions of small files alongside large archival objects. Every object is treated as tier-one data, avoiding the performance penalties of cold storage. This simplifies data management and keeps third-party applications stable, as they never have to wait for data to be restored from a deep archive tier.
For disaster recovery, this model is superior, as regular backups are guaranteed to be available instantly. Businesses using robust DR strategies can cut downtime by as much as 80%. By avoiding fragile tiering, you eliminate lifecycle policy drift and the surprise egress fees often associated with data retrieval, creating a more resilient and cost-effective big data infrastructure. This is a core component of advanced object storage.
Achieve Regulatory Readiness for the EU Data Act and NIS-2
For scalable object storage systems for big data, compliance is a competitive advantage. Upcoming EU regulations intensify the need for transparent and secure platforms. The EU Data Act, applying from September 2025, mandates data portability and interoperability by design, directly challenging vendor lock-in.
Your storage provider must prove a real exit path, allowing you to move all data, metadata, and versions without penalty. The Data Act will phase out switching fees, including data egress charges, by January 2027, making transparent pricing models a legal and commercial necessity. This aligns perfectly with a zero egress fee model.
The NIS-2 Directive further raises the bar for security operations for digital infrastructure providers. It requires a continuous security process that includes:
Supply-Chain Assurance: Vetting all vendors and software dependencies for security integrity.
Incident Reporting: Meeting strict timelines for notifying authorities of security incidents.
Vulnerability Management: Proactively patching and managing system vulnerabilities.
Access Control Policies: Implementing granular, role-driven security measures.
A storage partner with these processes baked into its operations helps you meet your own NIS-2 obligations. This proactive stance on compliance future-proofs your data strategy. See how we approach secure big data storage.
Leverage Predictable Economics to Control Big Data Costs
For big data operations, unpredictable costs are a primary challenge, with egress fees being a major source of budget overruns. A transparent economic model with no egress fees, no API call costs, and no minimum storage durations is essential. This predictability allows organizations to forecast expenses accurately, even with fluctuating data access patterns.
Organizations have reported saving up to 60% on storage costs after moving to a more predictable S3-compatible model. Eliminating egress fees is particularly impactful for big data analytics and machine learning, where large datasets are frequently moved for processing. The EU Data Act's mandate to remove these fees by 2027 validates this forward-looking approach.
Guaranteed service levels, backed by regional proximity for low latency, are another key factor. This ensures that your scalable object storage systems for big data can handle large object sets and maintain steady API performance over time. This financial and operational stability is a key reason businesses are seeking alternatives for big data.
Empower MSPs with a Partner-Ready Storage Platform
For Managed Service Providers, resellers, and system integrators, predictable margins are the foundation of a profitable service. A storage platform with zero egress or API fees provides exactly that, allowing MSPs to build defensible pricing for Backup-as-a-Service (BaaS) and archiving solutions. This model ensures costs remain stable even as client data usage grows.
A partner-ready platform must also deliver robust management tools. This includes a multi-tenant console with role-based access control (RBAC) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for secure client segmentation. Automation via a full-featured API and CLI, combined with clear reporting, enables MSPs to streamline operations and reduce administrative overhead by over 15%.
Recent distribution momentum with partners like api in Germany and Northamber plc in the UK expands local access for the channel. This growing ecosystem, combined with out-of-the-box integrations with leading backup tools like NovaBackup, makes onboarding fast and efficient. This focus on the channel provides the tools needed to deliver sovereign, compliant, and profitable data services to end customers. Explore our scalable storage solutions for partners.
Implement a Resilient and Sovereign Data Strategy
Additional useful links
The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (BfDI) provides insights into the importance of digital sovereignty and upholding European values.
Bitkom, a German association for the digital economy, offers a study report on the digitalization of the economy.
acatech (German National Academy of Science and Engineering) publishes on digital sovereignty, outlining its current status and key areas for action.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) provides information regarding mobile data usage in Germany.
The European Commission details its European data strategy (in German), a key part of its plan for a digital-ready Europe.
FAQ
How does Impossible Cloud ensure data sovereignty?
Impossible Cloud ensures data sovereignty by operating exclusively in certified European data centers. We are a European company, meaning your data is governed by EU law and protected from foreign statutes like the US CLOUD Act. We also offer country-level geofencing for precise data residency control.
Is your object storage truly S3 compatible?
Yes, our platform offers full S3 API compatibility. This means your existing applications, SDKs, and command-line tools will work without any code changes. We support advanced features like versioning, lifecycle management, and S3 Object Lock for enterprise-grade functionality.
What does 'no egress fees' mean for my business?
No egress fees mean you can access or move your data out of our cloud at any time without incurring extra charges. This provides complete cost predictability, which is especially valuable for data-intensive use cases like backup, disaster recovery, and big data analytics. It also eliminates vendor lock-in.
How does your 'Always-Hot' architecture work?
Our 'Always-Hot' architecture means all your data is stored in a single, high-performance tier. It is always immediately accessible, with no delays or fees for retrieving data from an archive. This simplifies operations, improves application performance, and makes your disaster recovery process faster and more reliable.
Is your platform suitable for Managed Service Providers (MSPs)?
Absolutely. Our platform is partner-ready, with a multi-tenant console, full API/CLI for automation, and clear reporting. The predictable pricing model with no hidden fees allows MSPs to build profitable BaaS and archiving services with defensible margins.
How do you support compliance with regulations like NIS-2 and the EU Data Act?
Our platform is sovereign by design, aligning with GDPR and NIS-2 security requirements through features like multi-layer encryption and IAM. Our commitment to no egress fees and S3 compatibility directly supports the data portability and anti-lock-in principles of the EU Data Act, which becomes applicable in September 2025.
