Kubernetes has long been the standard when it comes to scalable and highly available software platforms. Anyone wanting to operate Kubernetes in the cloud sooner or later ends up at AWS EKS (Elastic Kubernetes Service) – one of the best-known managed Kubernetes offerings worldwide.

But especially for companies based in Germany or the EU, different questions than just performance and feature lists are increasingly arising:

How sovereign is the operation really? How does it stand with data protection, compliance, and auditability? How transparent are costs and support?

In this post, we compare AWS EKS with ayedo Managed Kubernetes – a Made-in-Germany alternative specifically designed for regulated industries, data protection requirements, and exit capability.

Overview: What is AWS EKS?

AWS EKS is the managed Kubernetes service from Amazon Web Services. AWS provides the Kubernetes control plane as a managed service and integrates EKS closely into the AWS ecosystem (e.g., IAM, Load Balancer, VPC, CloudWatch, EBS).

Strengths of AWS EKS

• Scaling & global infrastructure
• Very extensive ecosystem (services, add-ons, integrations)
• High availability and strong automation possibilities
• Broad community and many best practices

Typical Challenges for German Companies

Many teams notice in operation: EKS is strong – but not always optimal when requirements such as data sovereignty, compliance readiness, and cost control are in the foreground.

• Complex dependencies through AWS-specific integrations (IAM, networking, logging)
• Cost models with many variables (egress, logs, monitoring, load balancers, support)
• Support often via global ticket processes, frequently in English
• For some organizations: legal and organizational questions around US control structures (e.g., risk assessments in sensitive areas)

Why ayedo is a Compelling Alternative to AWS EKS

ayedo Managed Kubernetes is a sovereign and affordable alternative to EKS, AKS, and Google Autopilot – developed for companies that want to use Kubernetes but want to reduce operational effort, vendor lock-in, and compliance risks.

The special thing: ayedo combines fully managed operation, European infrastructure, certifications, and provider-independent freedom of choice (multi-cloud & on-premises) into a platform that particularly fits German/EU requirements.

1) Sovereignty & Data Sovereignty: EU Operations Instead of Dependency

When digital sovereignty is a goal, “Region in the EU” is often not enough as an answer. What is also decisive is:

• Who operates the platform operationally?
• Who has administrative access?
• How portable is the solution if you have to switch?

ayedo focuses on:

• EU-based operations
• Open standards and exit capability
• Infrastructure freedom of choice (including AWS, Azure, GCP, Hetzner, IONOS, OVH, STACKIT, Telekom, VMware, Proxmox, and on-prem)

This creates a platform that is not tied to a single hyperscaler ecosystem.

2) Data Protection & Compliance: Built for Regulated Industries

AWS can be used in a GDPR-compliant manner – but depending on the risk and [compliance] interpretation, the discussion is not always pleasant. Especially in regulated organizations, auditability, processes, certifications, and documented exit strategies count.

ayedo Managed Kubernetes addresses compliance and regulation explicitly and practically:

• ISO 27001:2022 & ISO 9001 certified
• Support for GDPR/DSGVO, NIS-2, DORA, CRA, and Data Act
• Privacy by Design & Default, encryption at rest/in transit, BYOK/BYOHSM options
• Documented exit and portability runbooks and open interfaces

For decision-makers, this means: Compliance is not “retrofitted” but is part of the platform philosophy.

3) Support Proximity: Real Experts Instead of Ticket Ping-Pong

An often underestimated factor: Support quality. When Kubernetes is production-critical, what counts in an emergency is not theory, but reaction speed and technical depth.

ayedo offers:

• 24/7 expert support
• Personal support
• Operation by teams that make managed Kubernetes their core business

This is particularly relevant for companies that do not want to build their own SRE/platform department of hyperscaler size.

4) Transparent Costs Instead of Surprises

EKS often appears cheap at first – but in practice, costs arise through many additional items:

• Egress / Data traffic
• Load Balancers
• Logs & metrics (e.g., CloudWatch)
• Storage costs (snapshots, backups)
• Support plans depending on SLA

At ayedo, the focus is on predictability and transparent costs, instead of “a thousand small items.” Especially for FinOps teams, this is a real advantage: Costs can be modeled in advance and cleanly argued internally.

5) Less Vendor Lock-in: Kubernetes Remains Kubernetes

AWS EKS is technically Kubernetes – but in practice, a cluster often becomes heavily AWS-dependent:

• IAM / IRSA
• AWS Load Balancer Controller
• CloudWatch / Managed Prometheus / EBS / EFS
• AWS-specific network models

ayedo focuses on:

• Standard Kubernetes tooling
• Open source components
• A uniform ayedo Kubernetes distribution
• Portability through provider-independent architecture

This reduces lock-in, facilitates multi-cloud strategies, and makes exit scenarios more realistic.

Comparison: AWS EKS vs. ayedo Managed Kubernetes

“But we need global scaling!” – is that also possible with ayedo?

Yes – and without necessarily bundling everything with one hyperscaler.

Depending on the setup, ayedo supports:

• Multi-region and multi-AZ setups in Europe
• Geo-redundant load balancing
• CDN connection (e.g., Cloudflare, Fastly, Akamai)
• VPN/Peering options
• Scaling of worker nodes on-demand

This allows even international use cases to be implemented performantly – while core requirements such as EU data storage and compliance are maintained.

Migration: How to Successfully Switch from AWS EKS to ayedo

A switch often seems bigger than it is – because Kubernetes remains Kubernetes. The main effort usually lies in AWS-specific integrations (IAM, load balancers, observability).

Checklist for Migration

1. Export cluster configuration (Deployments, Services, ConfigMaps, Secrets, etc.)
2. Transfer Helm charts (usually possible 1:1)
3. Replace AWS-specific components (IAM, ELB/ALB, CloudWatch, storage drivers)
4. Plan data migration (DBs, PVs, backups, snapshots)
5. Test staging cluster and prepare cutover

💡 Tip: It becomes particularly efficient if you use the migration directly to modernize the platform – e.g., GitOps (ArgoCD/Flux), Policy-as-Code (Kyverno), or security controls.

Conclusion: When ayedo is the Better EKS Alternative

AWS EKS is a strong service – especially if a company is already deeply anchored in the AWS ecosystem and the [compliance]/sovereignty questions are clearly solved internally.

ayedo Managed Kubernetes is often the better choice when:

• Sovereignty and exit capability are real requirements
• Compliance and audit readiness are prioritized (GDPR, NIS-2, DORA, CRA, Data Act)
• Support must be personal, fast, and technically strong
• Costs should be predictable and transparent
• Kubernetes is to be operated provider-independently (EU Cloud / On-Prem / Multi-Cloud)

Get Started Now: Carefree Kubernetes with ayedo

You want to use Kubernetes – without vendor lock-in, without surprise costs, without nights of pager duty?

👉 Start now with ayedo Managed Kubernetes – Made in Germany, ISO certified, and on European infrastructure. Free consultation & individual architecture evaluation included.

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions

Is ayedo an alternative to AWS EKS?

Yes – especially for companies with high requirements for sovereignty, compliance, data protection, and predictable costs.

Can I also use ayedo on AWS?

Yes. ayedo offers freedom of choice in infrastructure – including AWS, Azure, GCP, as well as many European providers and on-premises.

Is the migration from EKS to ayedo demanding?

Mostly not – the effort depends primarily on how heavily AWS-specific services are used. Standard Kubernetes workloads can often be migrated very well.

Which certifications does ayedo offer?

ayedo is certified according to ISO27001:2022 and ISO9001 and specifically aligns the platform with the requirements of current EU regulation.