Europe deserves infrastructure it controls
Your email, identity, files, and workflows run on systems governed by foreign law. We help European organisations see the full picture, plan realistic alternatives, and make the move at their own pace.
European businesses are dangerously dependent on US-controlled technology
The risks are not theoretical. They are legal, operational, and growing.
of EU organisations depend on at least one US technology provider for critical operations
in GDPR fines issued since 2018, with cross-border data transfers a growing enforcement focus
days' notice required under the US CLOUD Act for authorities to access your data on US platforms
of EU mid-market companies have no documented exit strategy for their primary SaaS stack
The US CLOUD Act allows American authorities to access data held by US companies, regardless of where it is stored. If your email, identity, or files run on Microsoft or Google, they are reachable by US law enforcement, even with EU-based servers.
What we do
Start with evidence. Then decide what is worth changing.
Dependency Audit
Start hereWe map every workflow, integration, and control-plane connection across your stack. Every dependency is scored for sovereignty and replaceability. You get a risk register, replacement shortlist, and a sequenced migration plan, including prerequisites, cost comparison, and rollback approach. One deliverable, complete decision artifact.
Migration Execution
When you're readyOnce the audit tells you what to move and in what order, we execute alongside your team. Services migrate in controlled waves - email, storage, identity, collaboration, keeping workflows intact throughout.
Who this is for
European organisations with 5 to 50 employees that rely on US SaaS for daily operations and need an honest picture of what they depend on, especially before a renewal, a regulation, or a disruption forces the question.
Scaling startups
You chose Google Workspace or Microsoft 365 when you were five people. Now you are forty, and nobody knows what would break if access was revoked tomorrow.
Regulated mid-market
NIS2, DORA, or sector-specific rules require you to document ICT third-party risk and have exit strategies. You need the audit, not just the checkbox.
Public-sector suppliers
Your government clients are starting to ask about data sovereignty in procurement. You need answers that go deeper than 'our data is in the EU.'
B2B SaaS & fintech
Your own customers ask about your supply chain. You need to understand your upstream dependencies before you can credibly answer.
Why work with us
You could keep this in-house. You could ask your MSP. You could hire a Big Four firm. Most teams in our segment want something more independent and more practical than either extreme.
vs. doing it in-house or asking your MSP
- Your team or MSP may know the current stack, but they are usually busy running it. This work starts by slowing down and mapping what is actually dependent on what.
- An MSP is usually hired to support, standardise, and implement. A dependency audit asks a different question: what would be painful to replace, what is tightly coupled, and what is not worth touching yet?
- We give you a vendor-neutral decision artifact. If your internal team or MSP is the right party to execute later, they start with a clearer brief instead of discovering the problem while billing for the fix.
vs. PwC, Deloitte, McKinsey
- Large consultancies are good at regulatory framing and board-level programmes. They are rarely the right fit for a 5 to 50 person company that needs workflow-level dependency mapping.
- Their projects usually come with bigger budgets, longer timelines, and heavier process. Ours are fixed-scope audits priced upfront and delivered in 2 to 4 weeks.
- We stay close to the operational details: identity, admin control, integrations, file flows, procurement dependencies. That is the level your MSP or internal team actually needs if they are going to implement later.
- We have zero reseller agreements and no incentive to turn the audit into a larger transformation programme before the dependency picture is clear.
Transparent, fixed-scope pricing
Every engagement is quoted before work starts. No hourly surprises.
Micro Team
1 to 10 employees
Complete analytical framework for smaller organisations
- Complete dependency map & network graph
- Sovereignty & lock-in scoring
- Risk register with heatmap
- Replacement shortlist & cost comparison
- Migration roadmap & action plan
- 60-minute delivery walkthrough
- Executive summary
- 2-week turnaround
Small Team
11 to 25 employees
Deeper coverage for growing organisations
- Everything in Micro Team
- 2–3 stakeholder interviews for deeper coverage
- Extended alternative research per service
- Per-category sovereignty breakdowns
- Working session with leadership
- 3-week turnaround
Mid-Market
26 to 50 employees
Mid-market audit for complex, multi-stack companies
- Everything in Small Team
- Multi-department workflow mapping
- 5–8 stakeholder interviews across departments
- Per-department sub-views & analysis
- 2–3 working sessions with leadership
- 4-week turnaround
Migration Execution
Ready to move? The audit already includes your migration plan: what to move, in what order, with prerequisites and rollback approach. Migration execution is where we work alongside your team to make it happen. Scoped and quoted separately after the audit.
All prices exclude VAT. Custom scope available for organisations outside these tiers. Get in touch.
How we work
A review should reduce uncertainty before it creates work.
Understand
We start with your situation: what you use, what concerns you, and what decisions are on the table. No generic checklist.
Map
We trace every workflow, integration, identity dependency, and control-plane connection. Each finding is labelled Observed, Inferred, or Unknown.
Score
Every dependency gets a migration-readiness score. We separate what is easy to replace from what is deeply embedded.
Plan
Findings become a sequenced roadmap. Quick wins first, deep dependencies last. Each step is scoped around operational risk and reversibility.
Move
When you are ready, we execute alongside your team. Controlled waves, validated cutovers, workflows intact throughout.
What makes our work different
Most organisations know they depend on US-controlled technology. Few have a clear picture of how deep it goes. We provide that picture, then help you decide what to do about it.
You do not know what you depend on
Integrations accumulate over years. Nobody documents which systems rely on which vendor, or what breaks when one goes away. We map that.
You need facts, not opinions
Every finding we deliver is labelled: Observed (backed by evidence), Inferred (with confidence level), or Unknown (gap called out). No hand-waving.
You want a plan, not a report
Our deliverable is a sequenced roadmap: what moves first, what stays, and what to revisit later. Scoped around operational risk, not ideology.
You want honest recommendations
We hold zero affiliate agreements and zero reseller commissions. When we recommend something, it is because it fits your situation.
From the blog
Why Replacing Zoom Is Easy but Replacing Google Workspace Is Not
Some US SaaS tools can be swapped in an afternoon. Others are structural dependencies that take months to unwind. The difference comes down to four factors: identity embedding, data gravity, integration coupling, and format lock-in.
The Anatomy of a Google Workspace Dependency: What Keeps You Locked to Google
Google Workspace looks simpler than Microsoft 365 to leave. It is not. The lock-in sits in identity, Google Drive's collaboration model, Apps Script automations, and a web of APIs nobody inventoried.
The Anatomy of a Microsoft 365 Dependency: What Actually Locks You In
Most organisations think their Microsoft dependency is about email. It is not. The real lock-in sits in identity, integrations, and workflows nobody documented.
Common questions
A workflow-level dependency map covering every SaaS tool, identity provider, cloud service, and integration in your stack. Each dependency is scored for replaceability. You also get a replacement shortlist, a phased roadmap, and an executive summary. Every claim is labelled Observed, Inferred, or Unknown.
A compliance audit checks regulatory boxes. We map real operational dependencies, score how hard each one is to replace, and produce a migration-ready roadmap. The output is a decision tool for IT and leadership, not a certificate.
No. The audit tells you what is easy to move, what is deeply embedded, and what is not worth touching yet. Many organisations start by moving one or two high-risk services and leave the rest until they are ready. There is no pressure to migrate anything you are not comfortable changing.
Yes. After the audit, we can plan and execute the migration alongside your team. Services move in controlled waves (email first, then storage, identity, collaboration) with each cutover validated before the next begins. Migration scope and pricing are quoted separately.
EU organisations with enough SaaS complexity that switching is not a weekend project: professional services, regulated mid-market companies, B2B SaaS, fintech, legal, healthcare-adjacent, and public-sector suppliers. Our sweet spot is 5 to 50 employees.
We recommend what fits your situation. Zero affiliate agreements, zero reseller commissions. The shortlist comes from feature comparison and migration realism.
The US CLOUD Act allows American authorities to compel US-headquartered cloud providers to hand over data regardless of where it is physically stored. If your email, identity, or files sit on Microsoft or Google infrastructure, they are reachable by US law enforcement, even if the servers are in the EU.
You can, and sometimes that is the right call. The problem is that internal teams and MSPs are usually set up to run the current stack or implement the next one, not to do an independent dependency review first. We bring a structured framework, focus on the awkward parts people skip, and leave you with a clearer brief whether you execute with us, internally, or through your MSP.
Big Four firms excel at compliance frameworks and regulatory advice. We focus on hands-on, workflow-level dependency mapping and migration planning. Our engagements start at €1,950 and deliver in 2 to 4 weeks, compared to €50K+ over several months. We are engineers and architects who do the work ourselves, and we have zero vendor partnerships that could bias our recommendations.
Micro Team audits take 2 weeks, Small Team audits take 3 weeks, and Mid-Market audits take 4 weeks. All are fixed-scope with the timeline agreed before work starts.
Let's build your path to digital independence
Tell us about your organisation and what you are looking to understand. We will get back to you within 24 hours.
Thank you for reaching out
We have received your message and will get back to you within 24 hours.
Prefer email?
hello@sovereignshift.eu