Swiss Open Cloud: OpenStack, Open Source, Sovereign
High-performance cloud computing based on OpenStack with six availability zones in two regions, operated exclusively in Swiss data centers. Professional operation for company-critical infrastructure, with 24/7 support by our own engineers and without dependence on proprietary US platforms.
The Open Cloud from Safe Swiss Cloud offers six availability zones in two regions: a cloud for European and global companies that expect a best-of-breed solution and want to protect their data processing from arbitrary shutdowns as well as from access under the US CLOUD Act or comparable regulations of other countries.
It combines high-quality technology, professional operation, and the flexibility of open-source technology with the legal certainty of Swiss data protection. Built on OpenStack, CEPH, and KVM, you get a completely open, API-first infrastructure — free from vendor lock-in, free from the US CLOUD Act, and certified according to ISO/IEC 27001:2022. Whether it’s Linux and Windows VMs, data-sensitive applications, SaaS platforms, or GPU computing for AI: The Open Cloud is the sovereign foundation for your digital infrastructure in Switzerland.
Why Open Cloud?
Excellent technology for servers, networks, and storage, combined with our own data centers and professional operations. Operational security is ensured through geographically independent regions north and south of the Alps.
Proprietary cloud platforms tie you to vendors, pricing models, and legal jurisdictions that you don’t control. Open-source technology gives you that control back.
No Vendor Lock-in
OpenStack is an open standard — no proprietary APIs, no forced migration paths. Switch at any time without rebuilding your infrastructure. Your knowledge, scripts, and automations remain portable.
Transparency
What runs on your infrastructure is completely transparent and auditable. No proprietary code, no hidden dependencies. For companies subject to compliance requirements, this is not a nice-to-have — it’s a requirement.
Active Open Source Ecosystem
OpenStack is developed by a global ecosystem of companies and developers — including major technology companies and research organizations — who benefit from continuous innovation without reliance on a single vendor.
Renewable Electricity
The Availability Zones az1 and az2 are operated in our own data centers with 100% renewable energy.
24/7 support from engineers
Effective support is essential for any professional operation of business-critical processes. That’s why Safe Swiss Cloud offers around-the-clock support to ensure your operations run smoothly.
At Safe Swiss Cloud, you have access to real cloud engineers around the clock — no call center, no outsourced first-level teams.
For additional support in areas such as migration, training, DevOps, and more, we offer:
Flexible Support Packages
Monthly and annual support packages with dedicated engineer hours. Monthly packages: hours expire at the end of the month, cancellable monthly. Annual packages: hours are valid for 12 months, payable monthly.
Direct Expert Communication
Our support team consists of specialists in OpenStack, networking, storage, and security. They communicate directly with the engineer who knows your infrastructure.
Onboarding & Initial Configuration
After setting up your open cloud access, we organize a short online session to introduce you to the platform. This way, you start productively — not with an empty dashboard and a PDF manual.
Sovereignty without compromise
Their operation is not disrupted by one-sided decisions made by foreign governments, neither from the USA nor from China or other countries. Your data remains under your control: Safe Swiss Cloud is legally obliged to process and store your data exclusively according to your instructions, as per the Swiss DSG and the EU GDPR.
Your data is stored exclusively in high-security data centers in Switzerland — under Swiss law, without access by foreign authorities.
No US CLOUD Act
US cloud providers are subject to the CLOUD Act, which allows US authorities access to stored data — even if the data is physically located in Europe. Safe Swiss Cloud is an independent Swiss company without a US parent company and without US shareholders. Such arbitrary access and interference are therefore legally excluded.
Swiss legal framework
All data is processed under the Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA) and the GDPR. The revised Swiss DPA is aligned with the level of protection under the GDPR: In January 2024, the European Commission again certified that Switzerland has an adequate level of data protection. Personal data may therefore be transferred to Switzerland from the EU and EEA without additional guarantees.
Swiss data centers, full control
Safe Swiss Cloud operates your cloud infrastructure in high-security data centers in Switzerland, two of which are operated by us. There are no geographically unknown backup locations. You always know where your data is.
Data processing exclusively according to customer instructions
You decide which data is stored where. No automatic sharing with third parties, no analysis of your workloads for advertising purposes, and no opaque sub-processor chains.
Technology Stack
The open cloud is based on proven open source components that are used worldwide in enterprise environments.
OpenStack
The leading open-source platform for Cloud Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). Manage VMs, networks, storage, and identities via the Horizon dashboard or entirely via API. Supports Terraform, Ansible, and all common DevOps toolchains.
CEPH — 100% SSD Block Storage
Redundant, clustered storage on a pure SSD basis. If a storage node fails, you won’t notice: CEPH automatically redistributes data without downtime. 3500 IOPS per disk are available as standard; the technology used ensures the reliability, performance, and fail-safety of the storage.
Object Storage
A separate cluster with an S3-compatible interface for large amounts of data and backups. These are always mirrored in two data centers.
KVM & Linux
The Basis Hypervisor is KVM – the standard for open-source virtualization. Linux and Windows VMs are equally supported. Software Defined Networking (SDN) enables custom network topologies with full control over routing, firewalls, and access rules.
GPU Computing
For compute-intensive workloads such as AI training, machine learning, and blockchain applications, GPU resources are available — operated sovereignly in Switzerland, without data leakage into US cloud environments.
For DevOps & Developers
The Open Cloud is API-first by design — for teams that live Infrastructure as Code and prioritize automation over manual click-configuration.
OpenStack API & Horizon
All resources—VMs, networks, storage, users—are fully controllable via the OpenStack REST API. The Horizon dashboard provides a user-friendly web interface for setup and monitoring.
Terraform, Ansible and other tools
The Open Cloud is fully Terraform-enabled. Create OpenStack application credentials and declaratively provision your entire infrastructure. Ansible playbooks run against the OpenStack API without modifications.
Self-Service & Pay-as-you-go
VMs, networks, and storage are provisioned with just a few clicks or via API call — instantly available and billed by the hour. No minimum runtime, no hidden setup fees. Monthly cancellation is possible.
Comprehensive Documentation
The Open Cloud Developer Portal offers how-to guides, API references, and sample configurations. Supported distributions include Debian, Ubuntu, CentOS, Windows Server, and more.
Compliance & Certifications
The Open Cloud meets the requirements of regulated industries — certified, audited, and documented.
ISO/IEC 27001:2022
Certified for information security management systems. Regular external audits confirm the effectiveness of the implemented measures.
ISO/IEC 27017
Cloud-specific security measures complement the ISO/IEC 27001 standard: Among other things, the separation of virtual environments, the handling of administrative rights, and the division of roles between provider and customer are regulated.
ISO/IEC 27018
Certified for the protection of personally identifiable information (PII) in the cloud.
FINMA RS 2018/3 & BaFin/BAIT
Compliant with the requirements of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA RS 2018/3) and the German Banking Supervisory Authority (BAFIN/BAIT 10/2017). Suitable for banks, fintech companies, and insurance providers.
GDPR, DSG & HIPAA
Full compliance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Swiss Data Protection Act (DPA), and the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) for healthcare applications.
Who is Open Cloud suitable for?
From SaaS startups to regulated large enterprises: The Open Cloud adapts to your infrastructure.
Software companies & SaaS providers
Highly scalable infrastructure for SaaS platforms that incorporate data privacy as a product feature. Swiss data protection is becoming a competitive advantage for many B2B SaaS customers — especially in regulated markets like finance and healthcare.
DevOps Teams & Developers
API-first, Terraform-ready, with detailed documentation and real 24/7 engineer support. No call centers, no unresponsive ticket queues — direct communication with specialists.
Banks & Fintech
FINMA-compliant infrastructure for core banking systems, payment platforms, and data processing workloads. No third-country risk, full auditability.
Healthcare & Pharma
HIPAA-compliant environments for patient data, clinical applications, and research platforms. Data never leaves Switzerland — not even for backup or disaster recovery.
Prices
Open Cloud and Support Pricing
The following table lists the “on demand” prices for Open Cloud – this allows a customer to start and stop anytime with no additional charges. Discounts are available for if customers are willing to commit to using the system resources for a certain minimum period of time:
| Commitment Period | Eligible Products | Discount |
|---|---|---|
| 1 year | vCPU and RAM | 10% |
| 3 year | vCPU and RAM | 30% |
| Name | Units (metered hourly) | Monthly Price CHF/EUR | Product ID (SKU) |
|---|---|---|---|
| vCPU – Openstack virtual CPU cores | Units / month | 3.50 | o2s.vCPU-2GHz |
| RAM – Openstack memory (in GB) | GB / month | 5.50 | o2s.RAM |
| Clustered SSD storage – 3500 IOPS | GB / month | 0.10 | o2s.ssd-3500 |
| Clustered SSD storage – Basic (500 IOPS) | GB / month | 0.06 | o2s.ssd-bsc |
| Clustered SSD storage – Standard (1000 IOPS) | GB / month | 0.07 | o2s.ssd-std |
| Clustered SSD storage – Performance (2000 IOPS) | GB / month | 0.08 | o2s.ssd-io2 |
| Clustered SSD storage – higher performance (5000 IOPS) | GB / month | 0.16 | o2s.ssd-io3 |
| Clustered SSD storage – Dynamic Basic with 15 IOPS/GB | GB / month | on request | o2s.ssd-dynb |
| Clustered SSD storage – Dynamic Extra with 25 IOPS/GB | GB / month | on request | o2s.ssd-dynx |
| Storage for Snapshots, ISO files, templates | GB / month | 0.06 | o2s.sec-storage |
| Openstack BasicRrouter | Units / month | 10.00 | n2s.openstack-rtr |
| Public IPv4 addresses | Units / month | 7.50 | n2g.ipv4-public |
| Network traffic allowance | GB / month / customer | 5 TB per month included | n2s.opncld-network-traffic-allowance |
| Network traffic in excess of allowance | GB / month | 0.04 | n2s.network-traffic |
| Dual Data Center Object Storage for backups, archives etc. | GB / month | 0.05 | s2s.obj-stor |
Pricing List for Support Services
Monthly Support Packages
| Monthly Support Packages | Included Hours (per month) | Expiration of support hours | Price/month CHF/EUR | Contract Duration (months) | Billing | Product ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly Support 2 | 2 | Monthly | 290 | 1 | Monthly | pro2.support-2 |
| Monthly Support 5 | 5 | Monthly | 725 | 1 | Monthly | pro2.support-5 |
| Monthly Support 10 | 10 | Monthly | 1’400 | 1 | Monthly | pro2.support-10 |
| Monthly Support 15 | 15 | Monthly | 2’100 | 1 | Monthly | pro2.support-15 |
Annual Support Packages
| Annual Support Packages | Included Hours (over 12 months) | Expiration of support hours | Price/month CHF/EUR | Contract Duration (months) | Billing | Product ID |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Support 10 | 10 | Yearly | 130 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-10-annual |
| Annual Support 25 | 25 | Yearly | 330 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-25-annual |
| Annual Support 50 | 50 | Yearly | 650 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-50-annual |
| Annual Support 100 | 100 | Yearly | 1’250 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-100-annual |
| Annual Support 200 | 200 | Yearly | 2’420 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-200-annual |
| Annual Support 300 | 300 | Yearly | 3’500 | 12 | Monthly | pro2.support-300-annual |
Open Cloud Briefing
Learn how to operate your Linux or Windows VMs and your entire network infrastructure with maximum flexibility and performance. We look forward to a conversation.
FAQ
Important Questions and Answers
Information about the Open Cloud by Safe Swiss Cloud
To access Safe Swiss Cloud’s S3 compatible object storage you need the so-called “EC2 credentials”.
To get them, follow the instructions here: https://openstackdocs.safeswisscloud.ch/en/howto/ht-create-ec2.html
You will need your Open Cloud application credentials to do the above.
Yes.
See the documentation here: https://openstackdocs.safeswisscloud.ch/en/howto/ht-port-forward.html
Please visit this URL for Safe Swiss Cloud’s Open Cloud manual: https://openstackdocs.safeswisscloud.ch/en/
Yes, absolutely.
Open Cloud is based on Openstack technology.
Create Openstack Application Credentials and use these for Terraform.
The Open Cloud offering is based on the following technologies:
- Openstack
- CEPH: 100% SSD redundant, clustered block storage
- CEPH: for S3 compatible object storage
Yes, all our clouds offer software defined networking (SDN).
This allows you to create your own networks and rules of access to each network and between them.
No.
We provide systems that allow you to backup your VMs yourself.
For the Enterprise Cloud, we provide a Veeam based Backup as a Service which customers can operate themselves.
For Open Cloud, customers have access to Open Stack’s built in VM level backups, which they can setup themselves or use their own backup system of choice.
Safe Swiss Cloud provides S3 compatible object storage in its own data centers for use as backup storage.
Safe Swiss Cloud maintains sufficient extra capacity to allow its cloud systems to survive outages due to defects in individual physical nodes (servers).
Virtual machines (VMs) which were running on a physical node (hypervisor) with a defect are simply restarted on another physical node.
All storage volumes at Safe Swiss Cloud are provisioned on redundant data storage clusters (SAN), providing the following types of redundancy:
Redundant storage media: if an SSD has a defect, customers will not notice anything and processing will continue as normal. Safe Swiss Cloud will replace the defective storage device in the background without downtime.
Redundant storage node: if a storage node has a defect, customers will not notice anything and processing will continue as normal. Safe Swiss Cloud will replace the defective storage device in the background without downtime.
The use of 100% clustered block storage based on SSDs ensures maximum reliability, uptime and performance.
Yes. In fact our default storage category is 100% SSD based.
