Unpredictable cloud fees delay projects as European firms overspend

Many organisations in Europe are exceeding their cloud storage budgets, with fee structures contributing to delays in IT and business initiatives, according to the latest Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index.

The annual study, commissioned by Wasabi and conducted by Vanson Bourne, surveyed 1,600 IT decision makers globally, including over 500 from Europe, all of whom are involved in their organisation's cloud storage purchasing process. The latest report provides insights on budget trends, billing structures, security priorities and cloud adoption strategies in the region.

Spending and budget challenges

European organisations cite cloud storage fees as a key contributor to budget overruns. Nearly half of all cloud-related billing in Europe is attributed to storage fees (47%), with the remainder linked to the actual stored capacity. Fifty-six percent of European organisations reported overspending on their cloud storage budgets over the past year. Germany has the highest rate of budget excess at 66%, followed by the Netherlands at 64%, France at 53%, and the United Kingdom at 51%.

The research highlights that misalignment and difficulty forecasting usage, as well as charges linked to specific data operations like replication and object tagging, have driven these overruns. A vast majority - 90% of European respondents - identified at least one fee-related issue, such as higher-than-expected API, data retrieval, deletion, or egress fees, as a factor in exceeding cloud budgets.

These costs have had a direct impact on project delivery. Just over half (55%) of European organisations say that egress or other data access fees have delayed IT or business initiatives, reflecting the operational burden caused by unpredictable charges for moving data out of public cloud environments.

Organisations are being unfairly penalised for using and moving their data by anti-competitive practices like high egress fees and complex pricing models. This is consequently stifling innovation, as data is the lifeblood for unlocking full growth potential. Our data also shows organisations are being prompted to rethink their approach, leading many to strike a more balanced mix between cloud and on-premise solutions. At Wasabi, we believe that the cloud market should enable businesses to access and utilise their data freely, without hidden costs or constraints in data mobility.

Cloud-first and hybrid approaches

Despite concerns over cost unpredictability, many European organisations continue to take a 'cloud-first' approach to IT services. Thirty-four percent of surveyed organisations in Europe prioritise cloud adoption over alternatives requiring on-premises infrastructure, a rate that exceeds the global average (29%) and is the highest among all regions surveyed. In both the UK and Netherlands, the cloud-first approach was adopted by 41% of organisations - the highest rate recorded in the country-level breakdown.

We believe the higher rates of 'cloud-first' organisations across Europe are a positive indication of the region's continued embrace of cloud IT services and cloud storage, and the growing preference among regional organisations to adopt cloud services, despite the complexity of data sovereignty, residency, and locality requirements,

said Andrew Smith, Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence at Wasabi Technologies.

At the same time, 40% of European organisations described their IT strategy as 'balanced', deploying both on-premises and cloud solutions to meet business needs. In the UK, 44% prefer this balanced model, and only 16% primarily rely on traditional on-premises approaches. In Germany, nearly half (45%) of the surveyed organisations continue to favour traditional IT infrastructure, indicating more conservative adoption compared to other European countries.

Selection criteria and national differences

When selecting a cloud storage provider, European respondents most frequently prioritise performance and scalability (35%), native data protection, security and compliance (34%), and sustainability (31%). Data sovereignty was selected as a top-three requirement by 21% of organisations across Europe, a figure that rises to 29% in Germany, where regulatory frameworks like GDPR, the US Cloud Act, and initiatives like GAIA-X are shaping purchasing decisions.

Cloud cost and billing structures are particularly challenging in Germany, where the proportional mix of fees in cloud bills stands higher than elsewhere in Europe (50%). Egress fees are seen as especially impactful: 35% of German respondents included egress fees among their top three challenges, and 76% said data access costs had delayed IT or business projects.

In France, 41% of respondents adopt a balanced IT services approach, with 37% classing themselves as cloud-first. The security profile among French organisations stands out, with data protection, security and compliance listed as the most important selection factor for 41% of respondents. Respondents in France highlighted the ability to prevent and mitigate unplanned data loss as the greatest benefit of public cloud storage, although managing security across multiple providers remains an issue.

UK perspectives

UK organisations demonstrated high engagement with cloud services, with 44% favouring a balanced approach and 41% prioritising cloud-first strategies. Only 16% identified as primarily using traditional IT infrastructure. Nonetheless, half of UK organisations (51%) reported exceeding their cloud storage budget, and 91% cited at least one fee-related cause.

Performance and scalability is the largest driver in choosing a cloud storage provider for UK organisations (41%), followed by sustainability (32%) and ease of use (30%).

Cloud storage maturity and outlook

The data indicates that while European organisations continue to shift towards cloud adoption - balancing between cloud-first and hybrid strategies - billing complexity and unpredictable fees remain significant barriers, often resulting in budget overruns and delays to strategic initiatives. Data sovereignty, security, and the sustainability of cloud services are also influencing the provider selection process across the region.

The Wasabi Global Cloud Storage Index suggests that clarity in billing, more predictable pricing models, and enhanced data mobility will become increasingly important for organisations seeking to align IT strategy, cost management, and regulatory compliance in the evolving digital landscape.