Host Europe packs its bags: Large parts of the server infrastructure move to France
Host Europe, the UK-based web hosting group, has decided to move its former German subsidiary, including its entire server infrastructure, to France. The horror of the customers is great. In particular, the potentially possible lowering of the data protection level seems to occupy a large number of customers in this context.
Focus on the move of mass hosting
The plan is to move the so-called bulk hosting from Germany to France. As the Host Europe Group announced, the hosting data center "datadock" near Strasbourg will "host" the hosting customers in the future. In 2009 and 2010, the "datadock" was operated by the German-based Hoster pulse server with the help of the parent company Intergenia. In late 2014, the Host Europe Group took over Intergenia and thus also the French data center. What is special about "datadock" is that it is operated exclusively with "green" electricity.
Full operational readiness from the end of 2015
As announced by the British group, the move from Cologne to Strasbourg should be completed by the end of 2015 and the available capacities of the "datadock" should be fully usable. According to the company, both dedicated servers and V-servers should be fully operational. In contrast, shared hosting products are to remain in the Cologne data center for the time being. Furthermore, an official press release states that the customers registered with Domainfactory will move to the "datadock", including all services, "probably in the second quarter of 2016".
Massive criticism in the customer forum
In the meantime, all the company's customers should have been informed about the planned move. However, the company's own customer forum is dominated by critical voices about the move. The Domain Factory slogan "Hostin made in Germany", in particular, has been a major source of excitement, which was probably an attractive sales argument for many customers. Questions regarding the French data retention regulations and the related spying by the French secret service were heavily discussed or criticized in the forum. Furthermore, some customers have already announced that they will assert their claim to the special right of termination and look for another hosting provider. A spokeswoman of Domainfactory explained that the provision of services would not change as a result of the relocation and that there was therefore no right to special termination.
The Host Europe Group, on the other hand, believes
Despite massive criticism from customers, the Host Europe Group vehemently opposes this and promotes "datadock" as one of the most modern data centers in Europe. According to the company, the environmental and security standards are also extremely high. With regard to the data protection regulations, the Group states that there will be no changes whatsoever and that they will continue to be closely linked to German guidelines. Since Host Europe and Domainfactory will continue to be based in Germany, the so-called "country of domicile principle" will be applied in accordance with European data protection law, which makes any discussion of such fears superfluous.
No changes in the scope of services
The customers of Domainfactory or the Host Europe Group do not have to expect any changes in the scope of services. Furthermore, the highest security standards as well as the use of state-of-the-art technology in combination with the applicable German data protection regulations "are guaranteed", the company stated. A special right of termination is therefore excluded. However, customers have the opportunity to contact their personal contact person at any time to clarify open questions or to seek "individual solutions". It remains to be seen whether and how the move will affect the Group from a business perspective.
Since web hosting is a Contract If the contract is a contract for work and services, it can be terminated at any time without cause.
