The shifting global geopolitical landscape is forcing many organizations to revisit their cloud strategies to ensure stability, security, and future scalability. As the world looks to migrate data and services to Europe, organisations should take care to evaluate cloud service providers (CSPs) on their certifications, security controls, and ability to support regulatory requirements relevant to their industry.
Not every European CSP is the same and it’s worth digging deeper into what features and guarantees to look for, to fast-track business growth.
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Data Residency
Being able to choose the jurisdiction where you host your data is one of the greatest benefits of cloud. You control your data, server storage location, and determine the retention period – your data, your rules.
However, understanding applicable data residency requirements is crucial when selecting cloud regions to ensure compliance with the data transfer restrictions imposed by data protection laws, authority guidelines or your customers’ requirements. While most CSPs offer European cloud regions, it’s important to ensure the whole supply chain, including possible sub-processors of your CSP, comply with your data residency requirements.
Because UpCloud’s systems and operations are based in Finland, your data is protected by European regulations when you choose one of our European data centres. We never move your data from the selected data centre unless you specifically request it. And with data centres in 13 global locations, at UpCloud you can easily choose which country you want to store your data via the UpCloud control panel.
To strengthen our European data residency, we also have an EU Access Management Policy in place, ensuring only EU-based employees have privileged full remote access to operating systems within our EU data centres.
Data Security
ISO/IEC 27001:2022 is the world’s best-known standard for information security management systems. It provides guidance for establishing, implementing, maintaining and continually improving an information security management system. This standard is not a one-off certification. Holders are regularly audited by an independent third party to ensure adherence to high standards and the efficiency of security controls. Choosing a provider with an up-to-date ISO 27001 certification is a vote for robust data security management.
At UpCloud, we are committed to complying with European data protection laws and compliance with ISO 27001. This international standard not only signifies our dedication to maintaining a high level of information security but also ensures that we adhere to recognized best practices in managing and safeguarding your data.
To ensure a comprehensive and multi-faceted approach to security, we are also aligned with ISO31000:2018 and NIST CSF. We also have a bug bounty program and offer a public Vulnerability Disclosure Program for reporting vulnerabilities. Alongside, we are certified and audited annually to ensure we remain committed and aligned to the CISPE Code of Conduct.
The Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) is a non-profit organisation with members that include OVH, Hetzner, Leaseweb, Aruba, and UpCloud. The CISPE Code of Conduct focuses on data protection principles, and adhering to this ensures that your data remains within your control, isn’t used for anything other than what you’ve authorized, and remains in the EEA (EU countries, Norway, Liechtenstein, and Iceland), providing an additional layer of protection given the stringent data protection laws in place.
Go Beyond Compliance
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is the best-known European standard. After all, it’s hard to miss the opportunity to reject cookies on European websites. But there’s far more to data security.
Europe enforces the most robust data protection regulations in the world. When migrating to a European Cloud, choose a CSP that complies with the EU Regulatory Framework on Data, not just GDPR.
UpCloud prioritises compliance with the EU regulatory framework on data, adhering to:
- Digital Services Act (2024) – prevents illegal and harmful activities and content, protects fundamental rights, and obligates the removal of illegal content.
- NIS2 (2024) – the Network and Information Security directive established a unified legal framework to uphold cybersecurity in 18 critical sectors across the EU.
- DORA (2025) – governs ICT risk management, mandating cyber resilience for the financial sector and their service providers.
- Data Act (2025) – prevents vendor-locks and prohibits unfair contract terms.
- Data Governance Act (2023) – provides structures and rules for data sharing.
- Digital Markets Act (2023) – governs large online platforms to ensure fair business practices.
- ESG directive – while the Corporate Sustainability Reporting directive governs data service providers, we choose to operate transparently and openly share our ESG reporting.
Why choose a European cloud service provider?
When considering a move to Europe, organisations should establish clear compliance requirements based on industry regulations, legal obligations, and internal policies. This ensures a structured approach to maintaining security and regulatory adherence in the cloud.
UpCloud is a proudly European-owned organization. With 13 global data centers, and a cloud native product stack engineered for exceptional scalability, speed, and security, we’re the European force challenging what the cloud should be.
The heart of our promise at UpCloud is the unwavering security of your data. Certifications like ISO 27001 and adherence to the CISPE Code of Conduct demonstrate our commitment to this promise. UpCloud is the trusted European partner for your cloud infrastructure needs.
Read more about how UpCloud supports customer compliance and protects customer data.
