Quitting the cloud with a strong exit plan

The cloud provides scalability and convenience. On top of that, entry costs are low. Services such as Office 365, Google Workspace (formerly G Suite), Cloudflare and many other American providers quickly became the standard for files, emails, meetings and security. Unfortunately, more and more companies are now discovering that the cloud also has disadvantages. This is why more and more companies are considering leaving the cloud. We will explain why leaving the cloud can be a good idea, but also what the risks are. Of course, we will also outline the best alternatives. We are happy to create an exit plan for you and arrange the migration of your data.

Why leave the cloud, what is the danger?

For a long time, cloud solutions were seen as the logical choice. This was mainly due to security. The cloud eliminates the need to manage your own servers. Updates and security are handled centrally and collaboration becomes easier. You don’t have to worry about much. Yet the cloud also brings dangers, which is exactly why many companies now consider leaving it. The risks go beyond data leaks. You also need to consider the danger of being held hostage by policy and price changes, the loss of control, and the dependence on US legislation. We will go through some of these risks below.

Data privacy and control

All your company data stored with American providers falls under the Cloud Act. In practice this means that your company data is always accessible to the US government, even when stored physically in Europe. If your company works with sensitive data, this creates a serious risk. This is the case for companies with intellectual property, for healthcare institutions and for law firms, for example.

Continuity and availability

American cloud providers have the right to change their prices or terms at any time. This can mean limitations in functionality, forced bundles or sudden price increases. Outages also form a major risk. Maybe you can’t imagine it, but it’s definitely possible that Google or Microsoft goes down. If that happens, your business is going down as well.

Vendor lock-in

Another big issue is vendor lock-in. The longer you use the cloud, the harder it becomes to switch. You become dependent on the provider, which makes switching difficult, costly or even impossible. Data is often no longer easy to export and integrations are tightly linked with other cloud services. This makes your company dependent and vulnerable.

Why not become dependent?

In today’s world, companies must be future-proof. That means you need to be independent. You want control over your infrastructure, your costs and of course your data. Only then will your company remain flexible. Dependence makes your company vulnerable, which is already a major risk in itself. It means you don’t have full control over your own IT infrastructure. You have less say, and that means the consequences can be serious if changes occur. We will go through some examples of these risks.

Strategic dependence

The provider has all the control. As a customer, you have none. This leads to strategic dependence. When the provider changes terms or stops a service, you will not be able to prevent it.

Compliance risks

In recent years, more and more sectors are facing stricter rules for data protection. You must comply with national regulations. If you host your company data with an American provider, this may conflict with European rules, such as GDPR.

Cost control

One of the main benefits of the cloud is low entry cost. This is true. Costs do seem low at first. But as your company grows, costs can rise quickly without notice. Think of hidden costs for support, licenses or extra storage.

Innovation limits

Cloud providers often work with closed ecosystems. This makes it harder to use alternative software. It also becomes very difficult to integrate your own solutions. As your company grows and needs more tools, these limits will become more apparent.

What are the alternatives for Mail and Calendar?

All companies now use email and calendars. Many use Google Workspace or Office 365. But there are also good alternatives that offer more privacy and control. We will go through some of them.

Proton Mail and Proton Calendar

Proton is a Swiss alternative focused on security and privacy. Your company data cannot be accessed by third parties due to end-to-end encryption. Proton offers both Mail and Calendar and may expand with more tools soon.

European mail providers

In Europe, there are smaller providers that comply with strict European laws. If you do not want to host yourself but still want to be GDPR-compliant, this is a good option.

Self-hosted solutions

If you want maximum control, you can choose open source solutions. Think of tools like Zimbra or NextCloud. You can host mail and calendars yourself or with a European provider of your choice, so you are no longer dependent on American providers.

Consider the alternative MailinBlue/Brevo

It’s always important to check which sending services you use for transactional emails and campaigns. Many companies use SendGrid or Amazon SES, which also fall under US law. MailinBlue, now known as Brevo, is a European alternative that complies with GDPR. We can help you make this switch smoothly.

What are the alternatives for Cloudflare?

Many companies use Cloudflare for performance optimization, DNS and security (such as DDoS protection). Cloudflare offers some interesting advantages. It’s large worldwide and has many features. Unfortunately, it also brings the same dependence as other American providers. There are reliable alternatives that fall under European law. We are working on creating such an alternative ourselves, offering companies full control and independence without the risks of American dependence.

We can help you with an exit plan

Moving away from the cloud to alternatives is difficult. This is why you become so dependent on an American provider. But it’s definitely possible with a strong plan. All you need is a clear exit plan. This starts with mapping your dependencies and setting priorities. It’s important to define how data is moved without downtime or loss, and to implement in phases. This reduces risks and gives your employees time to adapt. We will guide you. We help you create the exit plan. We select the right alternatives and ensure safe data migration. You can count on certainty and break free from American providers. We handle everything, from analysis to implementation and migration. Want to know what we can do for you? Contact us today!