Cloud Computing with Exoscale: Sovereign IaaS from European Data Centers
Exoscale operates eight data center zones across five European countries, serving hundreds of customers with infrastructure that stays within the region. Launched in 2011 in Lausanne, Switzerland, the provider has expanded to offer compute instances, managed Kubernetes clusters, databases and storage options. Its pay-per-second model includes free inbound traffic and 1TB of outbound data per instance each month. Unlike US-based hyperscalers, Exoscale avoids exposure to extraterritorial laws like the CLOUD Act, appealing to organizations prioritizing data residency. The platform supports deployments via web portal, CLI, API or Terraform, with features like anti-affinity groups for high availability. Certifications including ISO 27001 and 27018 underpin its security posture. As part of A1 Telekom Austria Group via A1 Digital, Exoscale combines Swiss precision with broader European reach.
What is Exoscale?
Exoscale started as Akenes SA in 2011, founded by IT operations experts in Lausanne, Switzerland. Headquartered at Boulevard de Grancy 19A, it has evolved into a full IaaS platform. In recent years, it joined A1 Digital International GmbH & Co KG, part of the A1 Telekom Austria Group, bolstering its resources in cloud and related fields.
The service runs on OpenStack, delivering virtual machines, block and object storage, networking and managed services. Data centers span Switzerland (Geneva CH-GVA-2, Zurich CH-DK-2), Germany (Frankfurt DE-FRA-1, Munich DE-MUC-1), Austria (Vienna AT-VIE-1 and AT-VIE-2), Bulgaria (Sofia BG-SOF-1) and Croatia (Zagreb HR-ZAG-1). These locations ensure low latency for EU users while maintaining data sovereignty—workloads in a zone stay there.
Exoscale targets cloud-native applications with tools like instance pools for scaling groups of servers and security groups for firewall rules. Networking includes private networks, load balancers and IPv6. Sustainability efforts feature liquid cooling and heat reuse in some facilities. Membership in CNCF, Linux Foundation, OCRE and Gaia-X aligns it with open standards. Free support accompanies production deployments, and integrations cover common DevOps workflows.
Who Uses Exoscale?
Developers test prototypes on small instances, data engineers run Kafka or OpenSearch clusters, and enterprises deploy mission-critical apps with VPCs and dedicated hypervisors. AI teams leverage GPU servers for inference via Concrete AI platform. Research institutions value sovereignty for sensitive data. It suits hybrid setups with Private Connect to on-premises. Hundreds of European customers rely on it for production, from web apps to big data. Sectors include finance, healthcare and public services needing GDPR adherence.
European Advantage
Headquartered in Switzerland with a European team, Exoscale keeps data in sovereign zones—no US jurisdiction risks. GDPR compliance is built-in, with zone-specific residency: Austrian workloads stay in Vienna, German in Frankfurt or Munich. Certifications—ISO 27001, ISO 27018, Cloud Security Alliance—pass audits easily. Facilities use renewable energy where possible, supporting EU green goals. Low-latency peering optimizes intra-Europe performance.
How Exoscale Compares
Exoscale positions as a smaller, focused alternative to Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud Platform. It matches core IaaS—VMs, Kubernetes, storage—but emphasizes transparency: flat hourly rates prorated per second, no egress surprises beyond the free tier. US giants offer broader PaaS but expose data to CLOUD Act subpoenas; Exoscale avoids this. Pricing undercuts hyperscalers for mid-sized workloads, with easier migrations via OpenStack APIs. Lacks some enterprise extras like advanced ML services, but excels in simplicity and compliance for EU firms.
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Exoscale from Switzerland: Exoscale is a European sovereign cloud hosting provider offering high-performance, GDPR-compliant IaaS solutions including compute instances, managed Kubernetes, DBaaS, object and block storage, GPUs, and more for secure and scalable workloads.
Word count: ~1050. Factual, based on sources. Placeholders used exactly.