Solution · Digital sovereignty

How dependent is your company on US cloud providers?

Licence prices rise year after year, the CLOUD Act gives US authorities access to data held by American providers – regardless of where the server sits – and geopolitical decisions can change your tools overnight. Sovereignty does not mean replacing everything. It means having the choice.

Why this topic is now on every agenda

Price & licensing pressure

Cloud subscriptions keep getting more expensive, and features migrate into higher licence tiers. Without an alternative you pay whatever is asked – only those who could switch can negotiate.

Legal access to data

The US CLOUD Act obliges American providers to hand over data – even from EU data centres. For sensitive data and trade secrets, that is a real compliance risk.

Geopolitical uncertainty

Sanctions, export controls, platform decisions: your ability to operate depends on contracts and political situations you cannot influence.

The solution

The sovereign stack – from German data centres, operated by us

Four building blocks you can introduce individually or together – pragmatic, built for coexistence, no big bang.

1 · Email & collaboration: IceWarp

Mail, calendar, documents, chat and video conferencing – a European platform run from German data centres, up to 50% cheaper than comparable M365 plans. Outlook-compatible, migration included.

Technical details: IceWarp →

2 · Cloud & infrastructure

IaaS from the German data centres of our partner IONOS – GDPR-compliant without workarounds, with clear data residency and a European contracting party.

Technical details: cloud provider services →

3 · Backup under your own control

Managed backup with NovaStor, a German vendor: your last line of defence does not sit with the same provider as your production data. Protected against ransomware, restore-tested.

Technical details: managed backup →

4 · Operations by a German MSP

Sovereignty does not stop at the software: your operations, your contacts and your contracts sit with a German mid-sized company – reachable, accountable, on equal terms.

Technical details: managed services →

The honest comparison

Pure US hyperscaler stack Sovereign stack with mosaic IT
Data access CLOUD Act applies – regardless of server location German data centres, European contracting parties
Price trend Annual increases, no negotiating power Up to 50% cheaper for email & collaboration
Ability to switch Deep lock-in across the entire ecosystem Open standards, exit possible at any time
Support Anonymous hotline, forums, bots A dedicated contact in Germany
Coexistence Hybrid is an option: sovereign where it matters

Important: We do not recommend a wholesale, ideology-driven switch. In the sovereignty consultation we identify the areas where dependency is a genuine risk for you – and leave the rest running in peace.

Frequently asked questions

Do we have to leave Microsoft 365 entirely?
No. Many clients run a hybrid setup: IceWarp for mail and collaboration, M365 only where individual applications genuinely require it. That reduces cost and dependency at the same time.

Can our employees keep using Outlook?
Yes – IceWarp is Outlook-compatible and also includes a fully-fledged web client. The adjustment is minimal.

How much effort is the migration?
We migrate mailboxes, calendars and data with proven tools – typically over a weekend, without interrupting work. Migration is part of our service package.

Is “German” automatically more secure?
No – what is secure is what is well operated. The difference lies in legal access, pricing power and reachability. That is why we combine sovereign platforms with managed operations.

What about our existing licence agreements?
We plan around your contract terms: the switch is timed so that you never pay twice. We work through the numbers in the initial consultation.

Further reading

Checklist

Sovereignty check for mid-sized businesses

PDF · 10 screening questions

Where is dependency a risk for you – and where is it not? A structured stocktake you can run yourself.

Download the checklist free of charge
Service page

IceWarp in detail

freely available · with package prices

Features, migration and transparent pricing for the European collaboration platform.

View the page

Sovereignty starts with a conversation

In a free initial consultation we find the areas where dependency genuinely makes you vulnerable – no ideology, just concrete numbers.

Free IT health check

Where does your IT really stand? Our structured IT health check reveals risks, gaps and opportunities – concise, clear and with no strings attached.

Go to the IT health check →