As an agency owner and technology service provider, I have been closely observing the increasing political and regulatory decoupling between the US and the EU. When it comes to topics such as the GDPR, the US CLOUD Act and international data transfers, I increasingly ask myself whether relying on US-based big tech services is still the right long-term decision for companies operating in Europe.
In marketing in particular, personal data is processed on a daily basis – through analytics tools, email marketing platforms, hosting infrastructures or collaboration software. From my perspective, it is becoming increasingly important for companies to consciously evaluate whether European alternatives might be the more sensible choice from both a data protection and a strategic standpoint.
There are many mature and viable options available today: Matomo or etracker as alternatives to Google Analytics, CleverReach or Brevo for email marketing, Nextcloud for collaboration, and European hosting providers such as Hetzner or IONOS. These tools are technically robust, can be used in a GDPR-compliant manner and are well suited for many real-world marketing use cases.
One resource I regularly recommend is https://datenschutzalternative.de/. The website provides structured overviews of European, privacy-friendly services and highlights concrete alternatives to well-known US-based tools. For marketing decision-makers, it offers a solid starting point for critically reviewing their existing tool stack.
My conclusion: data protection is no longer just a legal concern. It has become a core part of a sustainable technology and marketing strategy. Making conscious decisions today helps strengthen compliance, trust and long-term resilience.
