Question 1

Why is IONOS the preferred Azure alternative for German/EU companies?

Accepted Answer

IONOS is a German company (part of United Internet) with headquarters and data centers in Germany. Unlike Microsoft, it is not subject to the US Cloud Act. By migrating to IONOS, you ensure maximum legal certainty and GDPR compliance, which is crucial for healthcare, finance, and public sector clients.

Question 2

How do costs compare between Azure and IONOS Dedicated?

Accepted Answer

While Azure charges for every resource individually (IPs, disk operations, traffic, vCPU hours), IONOS offers transparent pricing for dedicated hardware. For steady-state enterprise workloads, our clients typically see savings of 50-70%, while gaining dedicated performance without "noisy neighbors."

Question 3

Is IONOS hardware really "Enterprise Grade"?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Unlike some budget providers who build their own servers, IONOS relies on certified enterprise hardware from HPE and Dell with Intel Xeon or AMD EPYC processors and ECC RAM. This ensures hardware reliability comparable to Azure's underlying infrastructure.

Question 4

How do you handle Windows Server & SQL Server licensing?

Accepted Answer

IONOS is a strong Microsoft partner. We have two options: SPLA (Pay-as-you-go) – we rent Windows/SQL licenses monthly directly through IONOS. Or BYOL (Bring Your Own License) – if you have Software Assurance, you can often transfer your existing licenses to dedicated hardware at IONOS (License Mobility).

Question 5

How do we replace Azure Virtual Networks (VNETs)?

Accepted Answer

We use IONOS Private Networks. This feature allows us to build isolated Layer-2 networks between your dedicated servers, completely separate from the public internet. Combined with Proxmox VLANs, we can replicate your exact Azure network topology (Subnets, DMZ).

Question 6

Can we migrate Azure SQL (Managed Instance) to IONOS?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We migrate your databases to SQL Server running on Proxmox VMs with direct NVMe access. Since you are on dedicated hardware, you don't face the IOPS throttling typical of Azure SQL DTU models unless you pay for premium tiers. Performance often improves significantly.

Question 7

How do we replace Azure Blob Storage?

Accepted Answer

IONOS offers an S3-compatible Object Storage hosted in Germany. We migrate your Blob data to IONOS S3. Since it speaks the standard S3 API, it is easy to integrate with your applications and significantly cheaper regarding storage and traffic fees.

Question 8

What about Azure Active Directory (Entra ID)?

Accepted Answer

You can keep using Entra ID as your Identity Provider. We configure your Proxmox cluster and applications to authenticate against Entra ID via SAML/OIDC. This allows for a Hybrid Cloud setup where identity remains in the Microsoft cloud, but compute runs economically on IONOS.

Question 9

Is there an equivalent to Azure ExpressRoute?

Accepted Answer

Yes, IONOS Cloud Connect allows for dedicated, physical connections between your on-premise infrastructure and the IONOS data center. For smaller setups, we establish stable Site-to-Site VPNs (IPsec/WireGuard) via our OPNsense firewalls.

Question 10

How is the firewall handled (replacing Azure Firewall/NSG)?

Accepted Answer

IONOS provides a perimeter firewall, but for enterprise needs, OutaCloud deploys a high-availability OPNsense or pfSense cluster on your servers. This provides Deep Packet Inspection, VPNs, and granular rules, offering more control than standard Azure Security Groups.

Question 11

Do you offer High Availability (HA) similar to Azure Availability Sets?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We configure a Proxmox HA Cluster (min. 3 nodes). If a physical server fails, Proxmox automatically restarts the VMs on the remaining nodes. IONOS guarantees high availability for power and network in their ISO 27001 certified data centers.

Question 12

How do backups work without Azure Backup?

Accepted Answer

We implement Proxmox Backup Server (PBS). We usually configure local backups for fast recovery (RTO) and sync them to IONOS S3 Object Storage for off-site redundancy (geo-separation), ensuring a robust disaster recovery strategy.

Question 13

What certifications does IONOS hold?

Accepted Answer

IONOS data centers are ISO 27001 and BSI C5 certified (a strict German government cloud standard). This often exceeds the compliance requirements for typical SME and Enterprise workloads in Europe.

Question 14

Who supports the infrastructure?

Accepted Answer

IONOS provides 24/7 hardware support with fast replacement times. OutaCloud provides the managed operations layer: We monitor the OS, Proxmox, and services, manage updates, and handle incidents. You get a personal contact person, not just an anonymous ticket number.

Question 15

Can we migrate without downtime?

Accepted Answer

We use real-time replication mechanisms to sync data from Azure to IONOS while your system runs. The final cutover typically requires a short maintenance window (e.g., on a weekend) to switch DNS and ensure data consistency, but we aim for near-zero interruption.

Question 16

Does my team need to learn new tools?

Accepted Answer

Not necessarily. While the underlying tech changes to Proxmox (Linux-based), we can provide Windows VMs for your admins if needed. However, with our Managed Ops, your team stops managing infrastructure and focuses on the application layer.

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