Azure -> IONOS

Migrating from Azure to IONOS

IONOS is a German cloud provider (United Internet group) with multiple EU data centres and a broad managed catalogue including Kubernetes and PostgreSQL. AKS and PostgreSQL have managed equivalents; Cosmos DB and Azure AD B2C do not. Blob->S3 rewrite applies.

Which Azure services have an IONOS equivalent?

IONOS offers managed Kubernetes and databases; analytics and identity are self-hosted.

Azure services and their IONOS equivalents.
AzureIONOSVerdict
Azure Blob StorageIONOS Object Storage S3-compatible, NOT Azure Blob-compatible: Blob SDK rewrites.Partial
Azure Managed DisksIONOS Block Storage Direct equivalent.Equivalent
Azure Virtual MachinesIONOS Compute Engine / Cubes Flexible VMs via DCD.Equivalent
Azure AKSIONOS Managed Kubernetes Managed control plane.Equivalent
Azure Database for PostgreSQLIONOS Managed Databases Managed PostgreSQL and MySQL.Partial
Azure Cosmos DBNo managed twin Self-host ScyllaDB.No managed twin
Azure AD B2CNo managed twin Self-host Keycloak.No managed twin
Azure SynapseNo managed twin Self-host ClickHouse.No managed twin
Azure Service BusNo managed twin Self-host Kafka or NATS.No managed twin

Where do the Azure APIs diverge?

Blob->S3 rewrite applies. Cosmos DB, identity and messaging have no managed IONOS twin.

  • Blob->S3: every Azure Blob SDK call is rewritten.
  • Cosmos DB: self-host ScyllaDB.
  • Azure AD B2C: self-host Keycloak.
  • Service Bus: self-host Kafka or NATS.

Which services move cleanly?

Scoped to IONOS managed services.

8 capabilities

  • Object storage

    Hyperscaler Amazon S3 Azure Blob Storage Google Cloud Storage
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Object StorageOVHcloud Object Storage
    Verdict Mature

    S3-compatible API. A drop-in target for most SDKs, backups and static assets.

  • Block storage

    Hyperscaler Amazon EBS Azure Managed Disks Persistent Disk / Hyperdisk
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Block StorageOVHcloud Block Storage
    Verdict Mature

    Network block volumes with snapshots. Standard building block, well covered.

  • Virtual machines

    Hyperscaler Amazon EC2 Azure Virtual Machines Google Compute Engine
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway InstancesOVHcloud Public CloudHetzner Cloud
    Verdict Mature

    General-purpose and dedicated instances are a solved problem in the EU.

  • Managed Kubernetes

    Hyperscaler Amazon EKS Azure AKS Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway KapsuleOVHcloud Managed Kubernetes
    Verdict Mature

    CNCF-conformant managed control planes. Portable workloads move with little friction.

  • Container registry

    Hyperscaler Amazon ECR Azure Container Registry Google Artifact Registry
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Container RegistryOVHcloud Managed Private RegistryHarbor (self-hosted)
    Verdict Mature

    OCI registries are commodity. Self-hosted Harbor is a fully sovereign fallback.

  • Managed PostgreSQL

    Hyperscaler Amazon RDS / Aurora Azure Database for PostgreSQL Cloud SQL / AlloyDB for PostgreSQL
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Managed DatabaseOVHcloud Managed DatabasesAiven for PostgreSQL
    Verdict Viable

    Standard PostgreSQL is well served. Aurora-specific features (e.g. global database, serverless v2 autoscaling) have no exact twin, so plan around them.

  • Managed cache (Redis/Valkey)

    Hyperscaler Amazon ElastiCache Azure Cache for Redis Memorystore for Redis
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Managed Database for RedisAiven for Valkey/Redis
    Verdict Viable

    In-memory caching is well covered; Valkey is the emerging open successor to Redis.

  • Authoritative DNS

    Hyperscaler Amazon Route 53 Azure DNS Google Cloud DNS
    EU-sovereign path Scaleway Domains & DNSOVHcloud DNSBunny DNS
    Verdict Viable

    Managed authoritative DNS is well covered. Route 53's routing policies need a manual rebuild.

Verdicts are conservative and reflect managed, EU-jurisdiction offerings as of 2026. Provider feature sets move quickly, so we re-check on every engagement.

How many engineer-days?

50-120 engineer-days

Comparable to other managed EU targets, plus Blob->S3 rewrite.

  • Low: AKS, PostgreSQL, disk.
  • High: Blob-SDK rewrite, self-host identity and messaging.

Where does IONOS run?

Multiple EU data centres; German-operated.

  • Frankfurt, Germany (2 sites)Primary EU hub.
  • Berlin, GermanySecond German location.
  • Paris, FranceFrench option.
  • Worcester, UKUK region.

Honest limitations

  • Blob->S3 is a rewrite Azure-specific migration tax.
  • Narrower event ecosystem Less serverless tooling than Scaleway.
  • Cosmos DB and AD B2C have no twin Plan them first.

CTO questions

What is the DCD model?
A graphical Data Center Designer UI.
Is IONOS sovereign?
EU-operated, multiple EU data centres.