Open standards / API portability
Why important?
Reduces vendor lock-in and makes multi-provider setups easier.
How measured?
Scale 0–5 + N/A:
- 0 = Highly proprietary, no meaningful portability (standards missing)
- 1 = Limited APIs/export, strong lock-in signals
- 2 = Individual standards, but core services proprietary / without IaC
- 3 = Kubernetes/standard APIs + IaC possible, portability only partial
- 4 = Strong standards and IaC support + clear export/migration paths
- 5 = High portability (standards + IaC + demonstrable migration paths), broadly evidenced
- N/A = no reliable evidence
Sources / Evidence
- https://cloud.ionos.de/seca-api
- https://www.secapi.cloud
- https://www.ovhcloud.com/pl/bare-metal/secnumcloud/
- https://www.t-cloud-public.com/en/benefits/sovereignty
- https://www.plusserver.com/en/product/pluscloud-open/
- https://www.exoscale.com/data-portability/
- https://registry.terraform.io/providers/exoscale/exoscale/latest/docs
- https://docs.hetzner.com/storage/object-storage/getting-started/using-s3-api-tools/
- https://registry.terraform.io/providers/hetznercloud/hcloud/latest/docs
- https://www.scaleway.com/en/object-storage/
- https://registry.terraform.io/providers/scaleway/scaleway/latest
- https://community.exoscale.com/product/storage/object-storage/
- https://community.exoscale.com/reference/api/
- https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/security/announcing-initial-services-available-in-the-aws-european-sovereign-cloud/
- https://aws.amazon.com/blogs/aws/opening-the-aws-european-sovereign-cloud/
- https://www.deloscloud.de/products/portfolio.html
- https://news.microsoft.com/de-de/erste-souveraene-cloud-plattform-fuer-die-deutsche-verwaltung-auf-der-zielgeraden/
- https://www.noris.de/wp-content/uploads/noris-Sovereign-Cloud-Product-Sheet.pdf
- https://www.syseleven.de/produkte-services/openstack-cloud/
- https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/aks/intro-kubernetes
Validation questions (RFP)
- Are there standardised APIs/provider abstraction? What exit costs and tooling dependencies exist?
Scores comparison
| Providers | Score | |
|---|---|---|
| IONOS Cloud | 5.0 | |
| noris Sovereign Cloud | 5.0 | |
| SysEleven OpenStack Cloud | 5.0 | |
| Infomaniak Public Cloud | 5.0 | OpenStack-based (OpenStack Powered Marketplace). Terraform/OpenTofu provider (Infomaniak/infomaniak). OpenStack APIs + CLI. S3-compatible object storage. Infomaniak CLI. AWS/Azure-compatible migration emphasised. |
| T Cloud Public | 4.0 | |
| pluscloud open | 4.0 | |
| UpCloud | 4.0 | |
| Exoscale | 4.0 | |
| Hetzner Cloud | 4.0 | |
| Scaleway | 4.0 | |
| Cloud Temple Trusted Cloud | 4.0 | Terraform provider (cloudtemple) in the Terraform Registry. OpenStack/OpenShift (Red Hat) as basis. S3-compatible object storage. APIs for all services. Open source focus (XEN fork). Gaia-X Label Level 3. |
| AWS European Sovereign Cloud | 3.0 | |
| Delos Cloud | 3.0 | |
| STACKIT | 2.0 | |
| OVHcloud Public Cloud (inkl. SecNumCloud) | 2.0 | |
| Microsoft Sovereign Cloud | 2.0 | |
| Oracle EU Sovereign Cloud | 1.0 |