Rocket.Chat and AWS European Sovereign Cloud – Sovereign Collaboration or Illusion?

Looking for sovereign communication solutions? At WZ-IT we advise you on GDPR-compliant alternatives such as Rocket.Chat, Mattermost and Zulip. We provide consulting, installation, support, operations, maintenance and monitoring of your solution. Schedule your free and non-binding consultation: Book an appointment.

In an era where data sovereignty, cloud integration and regulatory compliance (e.g. GDPR, Schrems II) are becoming central to corporate IT strategies, the question of sovereign cloud infrastructure is becoming increasingly relevant. The collaboration between Rocket.Chat – an open-source communication platform – and the AWS European Sovereign Cloud (ESC) is therefore an interesting case study. Rocket.Chat markets itself comprehensively as a platform with data and deployment options ("sovereign by design") (rocket.chat); Amazon AWS, in turn, announces the ESC as an independent EU cloud region that aims to offer enhanced sovereignty and control mechanisms. (EU About Amazon)

But what does this actually mean for companies? Is "complete sovereignty" really achievable here – or does it remain just technical promises while legal and structural risks persist? In this article, we examine central aspects such as data control, integration capability, user experience and compliance risks, and finally show what real sovereignty looks like – and how we can support you in this.

What's behind the solutions?
- Rocket.Chat
- AWS European Sovereign Cloud (ESC)
What does this mean for businesses in practice?
Critical view: Where are the pitfalls?
Recommendations for businesses
Conclusion
Sources

What's behind the solutions?

Rocket.Chat

Rocket.Chat is an open-source platform for team communication and collaboration (messaging, channels, file sharing, app extensions). (rocket.chat)

License & Deployment: Community Edition (free) + Enterprise Edition (commercial). Deployment options: On-Premise, Self-Hosted Cloud, "Sovereign Cloud" variants. (rocket.chat)
Target audience: Companies, government agencies, organizations with increased requirements for data protection and sovereignty. (rocket.chat)
Strengths: High customizability, self-hosting options, focus on data sovereignty.
Limitations: Operation and maintenance often remain with the customer; specific sovereignty guarantees depend on hosting.

More about Rocket.Chat compared to Slack.

AWS European Sovereign Cloud (ESC)

The AWS ESC is a new cloud region from Amazon, specifically for Europe, aimed at meeting stricter requirements for sovereignty, data residency and operational control. (EU About Amazon)

Planned Launch: First region in Germany (Brandenburg) by end of 2025. (InfoQ)
Special features: Infrastructure, operations and support should be entirely within the EU; separate billing, own Root-CA, etc. (Amazon Web Services)
Target audience: Public sector, critical infrastructure, regulated industries.
Adoption: Many partner solutions announce integration. (Amazon Web Services)
Limitations: Parent company Amazon.com, Inc. remains US-based; legal complexities persist.

What does this mean for businesses in practice?

Aspect	Assessment
Data & Metadata Residency	AWS ESC: Promises to keep data and metadata entirely within the EU. (Amazon Web Services) But: Despite technical separation, the parent company remains US-based – legal risks (e.g., US laws) persist.
Operations & Access Control	AWS ESC: Only EU-resident employees should operate on-site. (IT Pro) Rocket.Chat: Self-hosting provides full control – however, responsibility lies with the company.
Regulation & GDPR	AWS ESC: Promises a "sovereign by design" architecture. (EU About Amazon) Rocket.Chat: Focus on EU compliance, data sovereignty, self-hosting. (rocket.chat) But: Legal sovereignty depends not only on location, but also on corporate, access and contractual structures.
Integration & Ecosystem	AWS has extensive services, partner ecosystem already available. (Amazon Web Services) Rocket.Chat offers many integrations, modern APIs.
Costs & Operations	AWS ESC: Likely cloud service model, higher costs due to premium sovereignty promises. Self-hosting with Rocket.Chat: Lower license budget, but own operations required.

Critical view: Where are the pitfalls?

1. Legal sovereignty vs. technical architecture

Technically, AWS ESC may be largely operated in the EU – but the parent company remains American. In corporate legal terms and with regard to extraterritorial access laws (e.g., CLOUD Act), uncertainty remains.

An industry article writes: "You don't set up a sovereign cloud overnight…" (Techzine Global)

2. Contractual, organizational and real control

Data traffic, key management, access situation, metadata: Even with EU operations, access paths may exist. A provider being "in Europe" alone does not automatically guarantee complete sovereignty.

3. Dependence on hyperscaler ecosystem

Many partner solutions and services build on ESC – but this means dependence on a provider whose business model is not primarily based on European sovereignty.

4. Self-hosting as a real alternative

With a self-operated system (e.g., Rocket.Chat on-premise in your own data center or as a managed service on European infrastructure like Hetzner), full responsibility and control remain with the customer or a trusted European service provider – significantly reducing external control and dependency risks.

More about cloud migration to European clouds.

Recommendations for businesses

Check not only the physical location of data, but also the corporate and access legal structure of the provider or platform.
Negotiate contractually clear commitments regarding data residency, metadata handling, access control, and logic of support and operational controls.
Evaluate operational and maintenance responsibility: Who monitors security, updates, vulnerabilities?
Weigh costs vs. risk: A cloud with sovereignty promises usually costs more; self-hosting requires more resources but offers more control.
Define clearly what sovereignty means to you: complete EU jurisdiction? No third-country access? Self-managed key management?

Also read our article about secure business communication after Chat Control.

Conclusion

The cooperation between Rocket.Chat and AWS ESC is technically an interesting development in the context of European cloud sovereignty. AWS offers an architecture with the European Sovereign Cloud that promises EU data residency and operational control. Rocket.Chat brings an open-source platform with a focus on deployment and data sovereignty.

However: Technology alone is not enough. If the corporate structure, legal framework or access controls are not completely under European control, the sovereignty promise remains partially an illusion. For companies with the highest requirements for data and legal control, it makes sense to rely on purely European providers or completely self-operated solutions.

Our offer

If you want to build a truly sovereign, GDPR-compliant communication and collaboration platform – whether on-premise or with a European hosting partner like Hetzner or on a private cloud with Proxmox – we support you from consulting to installation to operations, monitoring and compliance hardening.

We offer managed services for open-source software, including:

Compare also:

Contact us:

📅 Free initial consultation: Book appointment 📞 Phone: +49 2922 875068 📧 Email: [email protected]