2025 - 06 - 13
Behind the word 'cloud', very different models
The word 'cloud' has become omnipresent in IT speeches. But not all clouds are created equal, especially when it comes to hosting critical or regulated data. Between public cloud, private cloud, sovereign cloud and now trusted cloud, it is sometimes difficult for decision makers to navigate.
Choosing the right cloud model has become a strategic issue. It directly impacts the security, availability, location, and compliance of data processed by the company. These aspects are not anecdotal, especially for sectors subject to strict regulations (health, legal, finance, communities...).
Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR – 2016/679), companies are legally responsible for the place and legal framework in which their data is hosted.
This article aims to clarify the major differences between public cloud and trusted cloud, and to show why an informed choice often requires the support of a qualified provider.
Public cloud : maximum flexibility, but little real control
Public clouds (AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud...) offer powerful, scalable services that are accessible internationally. Their model is based on a shared infrastructure, shared between several customers, distributed in data centers around the world.
The benefits are real :
- Rapid deployment
- Costs of use
- Large ecosystem of services
But these benefits come with critical grey areas :
- Fuzzy location of data (sometimes outside the EU)
- Often applicable extraterritorial law (Cloud Act, Patriot Act)
- Opaque model on the subcontracting chain and reversibility
According to a study by the French Senate (Gauvain report, 2021), more than 70% of French companies host sensitive data on clouds subject to US legislation.
This potentially exposes these data to unwanted access, even outside of any European judicial procedure. That is why public institutions, large companies and more and more SMEs are looking for safer and more transparent alternatives.
Trust cloud : sovereignty, compliance and transparency
The trusted cloud is a concrete response to the limitations of the public cloud. It is based on an infrastructure hosted in Europe, operated by European providers, and free of any extraterritorial legal influence.
Its key features :
- Guaranteed data location in Europe or Switzerland
- Independent provider of foreign laws (excluding Cloud Act)
- GDPR Compliance Built-in from Design
- Traceability, auditability and enhanced security
A cloud, when it meets these criteria of transparency, compliance, and security, can be described as a trusted cloud.
Opting for a trusted cloud means regaining control over your data, while benefiting from an efficient, scalable and secure infrastructure. This model is particularly suitable for European companies wishing to ensure the integrity, confidentiality and compliance of their critical data.
What are the concrete guarantees for companies?
The benefits of the trust cloud are not only theoretical. For a CIO, a CTO or a CISO, this translates into operational and strategic guarantees :
- Total control over the location of the servers
- Visibility on the processing chain and data flows
- Access to private dedicated or isolated VPS servers, with contractually defined performance levels
- Local support, human, reachable, without foreign intermediaries
- Compliance with European standards: ISO 27001, GDPR, HDS, etc.
Moreover, a trusted cloud provider offers you the possibility to contract on confidentiality, data retention duration, reversibility conditions and security measures applied.
Clearly : your data belongs to you, it remains within a controllable perimeter, and you know to whom you are addressing.
This visibility is impossible to obtain in a classic public cloud, where the model relies on massive automation, process anonymization, and geographical dilution.
Why rely on a trusted cloud partner like UNIVIRTUAL
At UNIVIRTUAL, we have chosen to build a sovereign cloud of trust, operating for more than 25 years, with a dual presence in Switzerland and France.
Our approach is based on clear commitments :
- Private VPS servers with high performance
- Hosting in Tier 3+ and Tier 4 datacenters, located exclusively in Europe
- Controlled open source technologies, without dependence on GAFAM
- High security : network segmentation, encryption, redundant backups
- Human support : audit, migration, outsourcing, dedicated support
Our private cloud, desktop virtualization, IP telephony, storage and DRP solutions are designed for mission-critical environments, yet simple to deploy and administer.
We support both SMEs and CIOs of large structures or communities, with a personalized, ethical and sovereign approach.
Conclusion : choosing a cloud is choosing a trusted model
Faced with the growing complexity of the cloud ecosystem, making the right choice is no longer a technical matter, but a strategic decision. The trusted cloud is essential for companies wishing to keep control over their data, while remaining agile, efficient and compliant.
But this transition requires strong expertise, solid architecture, and appropriate support.
That is why UNIVIRTUAL positions itself as a trusted partner, by providing you with an efficient and sovereign European infrastructure, and human, rigorous and sustainable support.
To discover all our secure cloud solutions: www.univirtual.ch/fr
