Replacing AWS: Swiss or European cloud and hosting
Infomaniak Public Cloud, Exoscale, OVHcloud, Scaleway, Hetzner, IONOS: the Swiss and European alternatives to AWS for hosting an application, and how to migrate an architecture without rewriting everything.
Published on 17 September 2026 by Lumineth
The cloud is the most structuring dependency: it is where applications, databases and backups run. It is also the most technical to move. Fourth part of the digital sovereignty series.
The alternatives
| Solution | Country | Origin | Open source | Pricing model | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infomaniak Public Cloud | Switzerland | Switzerland | Yes (OpenStack) | Pay as you go | |
| Exoscale | Switzerland | Switzerland | No | Pay as you go | Subsidiary of the Austrian A1 group |
| OVHcloud | France | EU | No | Pay as you go | SecNumCloud-qualified offer available |
| Scaleway | France | EU | No | Pay as you go | GPUs available |
| Hetzner | Germany | EU | No | Pay as you go | Very good price/performance |
| IONOS Cloud | Germany | EU | No | Pay as you go |
Infomaniak Public Cloud is built on OpenStack, an open base: what you build there moves to another OpenStack. Exoscale is the Swiss cloud most used by developers, with a catalogue close to the big players. OVHcloud offers a SecNumCloud-qualified offer for the most sensitive data. Scaleway provides GPUs, useful for AI. Hetzner is the most economical for simple servers.
What migrates well, what migrates badly
- Migrates well: virtual machines, containers, S3-compatible object storage, PostgreSQL or MySQL databases, backups, DNS. All the clouds above offer them.
- Takes work: managed Kubernetes, message queues, serverless functions. Equivalents exist but the tooling changes.
- Needs re-architecting: AWS-specific services (DynamoDB, Lambda with its triggers, Cognito, Step Functions). That is the real cost of a dependency: the more the architecture hugs a provider, the more expensive it is to move.
Design so you can leave
In the solutions I put in place, I separate what is differentiating (the business core, written in portable code) from what is not (database, storage, compute), and for the second block I choose building blocks available at several providers: PostgreSQL rather than a proprietary database, S3-compatible rather than exotic storage, containers rather than functions tied to a home-made trigger. Migration then becomes an operation, not a project.
Where to start
- Backups: copy them now to Swiss or European object storage. It is reversible and it protects immediately.
- New projects: start them on a European cloud, with portable building blocks.
- The existing estate: migrate service by service, starting with those that only use standard blocks.
I put this kind of migration in place with your teams: inventory, choices by data sensitivity, staged switch-over, operations. A first conversation is enough to know where to start.
Get in touchFAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which Swiss cloud should I choose?
Infomaniak Public Cloud if you want an open OpenStack base and an independent Swiss player; Exoscale if you want a catalogue close to the big clouds with mature developer tools.
Is a migration from AWS always possible?
Yes, but its cost depends on the architecture. Machines, containers, standard databases and S3 storage migrate well; AWS-specific services need a partial rewrite.
Do we have to migrate everything at once?
No. Backups first, new projects next, then the existing estate service by service. A period with two providers is normal.
A concrete case on your side?
Tell me what costs you time or what you want to take back control of; I get back within 24 business hours with a first read, no obligation.