European Alternatives: Why Choosing Local Cloud Matters More Than Ever

Europe faces a strategic decision. Relying on foreign hyperscalers for critical infrastructure means exposure to foreign laws, political risks, and lock in effects. If Europe wants digital resilience, it needs credible local alternatives.

Bert Hubert put it bluntly in his article “But how to get that European cloud?”: market forces alone will not deliver sovereignty. Europe must deliberately build and choose alternatives.

That is where Servala comes in: enabling managed services and applications on the European cloud of your choice, without lock in, with compliance by design, and under your control.

The Core Risks: Confidentiality, Availability, Control

The debate about European alternatives becomes concrete when broken down into three categories that define digital sovereignty.

Confidentiality - Who Has Access to Your Data?

Confidentiality is the foundation of sovereignty. The key question: who can access your data, and under which laws? With regulations like the US Cloud Act, even data physically stored in Europe may still be subject to foreign access. For industries such as finance, healthcare, or government, this is more than an IT concern - it is a legal and strategic risk.

Availability - Can Access Be Taken Away?

Availability means ensuring your systems stay online, regardless of political or commercial events. The so called “kill switch” scenario is real: providers can restrict or cut off access with little warning. We saw this when US tech companies suspended services in Russia after sanctions. For organizations fully dependent on a single provider, this can mean instant downtime. Sovereignty means having alternatives and exit strategies.

Control - Are You Free to Leave?

Control is lost when lock in makes it too costly or complex to switch providers. Proprietary interfaces, exclusive features, and restrictive contracts reduce your ability to act. The result is higher costs, less innovation, and weakened resilience. European alternatives, built on open standards and interoperability, give you back freedom of choice.

These three risks show why Europe needs credible cloud options that align with its own values, laws, and long term interests.

Why European Alternatives Matter Now

Several converging trends make this the right time to act:

• Legal and regulatory pressure. GDPR and emerging sovereignty requirements demand clearer data governance.

• Geopolitical risks. Dependence on non European infrastructure exposes organizations to foreign policies and sanctions.

• Market demand. Enterprises and public institutions increasingly require European based services for compliance and trust.

• Strategic autonomy. Strengthening local ecosystems reduces dependencies and supports Europe’s digital resilience.

As Bert Hubert argues, Europe does not need to replicate hyperscalers overnight. It needs trustworthy, sovereign services that can scale step by step and adoption from enterprises willing to choose them.

How Servala Enables European Alternatives

Servala helps organizations put sovereignty into practice by making managed services and applications available on the European infrastructure of their choice.

• Choice of infrastructure. Deploy in trusted European public clouds, on premises, or even air gapped environments, always under the jurisdiction you require.

• Standardized operations. Backups, patching, monitoring, and compliance are handled with transparent, open standards so you can trust and verify.

• Compliance by design. Encryption, SBOMs, and audit trails simplify GDPR and regulatory obligations.

• Freedom from lock in. Services are packaged using Kubernetes native workflows, Helm, and CRDs, making it easier to move between providers.

• Open ecosystem. Servala builds on open source and community driven standards, avoiding black box dependencies.

By combining these principles, Servala strengthens both organizational and European digital sovereignty.

What This Means For You

For enterprises and public sector

• Keep data confidential and compliant within European jurisdictions

• Ensure systems stay available even in times of crisis

• Retain the freedom to switch providers without disruption

For software vendors and ISVs

• Deliver services aligned with European sovereignty expectations

• Expand into regulated markets that demand local hosting and compliance

• Differentiate from competitors tied to non European clouds

For European cloud providers

• Offer credible sovereign alternatives powered by consistent operations

• Grow service catalogs quickly with standardized managed services

• Position as trusted partners in a sovereignty driven market

The Servala Advantage

European alternatives are no longer optional. They are essential for resilience, trust, and compliance. By enabling managed services and applications on the European cloud of your choice, Servala helps organizations reduce dependencies and strengthen sovereignty.

Our vision: Europe’s digital future should be built on confidentiality, availability, and control.

📬 Contact us to see how Servala enables European alternatives with sovereignty
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