Kubernetes-Native Neocloud Platforms: Managed Kubernetes Without Hyperscaler Lock-In

EKS, AKS, and GKE are excellent Kubernetes platforms — that lock you into their cloud ecosystems. Load balancers, ingress controllers, storage classes, IAM integration, and observability all use proprietary APIs. Moving away means rewriting infrastructure. Neocloud Kubernetes platforms offer managed K8s with standard, portable configurations.

Neocloud Kubernetes Offerings

• Scaleway Kapsule/Kosmos — Managed K8s with multi-cloud federation (Kosmos). Standard CNCF tooling. EU sovereign
• OVHcloud Managed Kubernetes — Based on open-source Kubernetes. Integrated with OVH networking and storage. EU sovereign
• Hetzner Cloud (k3s/self-managed) — No managed K8s, but excellent price-performance for self-managed clusters. Popular in the community
• IONOS Managed Kubernetes — Enterprise managed K8s with German sovereignty guarantees
• Exoscale SKS — Simple Kubernetes Service. Swiss-operated, clean API
• Civo (UK) — K3s-based managed Kubernetes. Fast provisioning, developer-friendly
• Vultr Kubernetes Engine — Global neocloud with managed K8s at competitive pricing

Portability Advantages

Neocloud K8s platforms typically use standard components:

• Standard Kubernetes API (no proprietary extensions)
• Standard CSI drivers for storage (not proprietary storage classes)
• Standard ingress controllers (nginx, Traefik — not ALB/AGIC)
• Standard load balancers or MetalLB
• Standard OIDC for authentication (not cloud IAM integration)

Result: your Kubernetes manifests, Helm charts, and ArgoCD configurations work across providers without modification.

What You Give Up

• Deep integration with cloud-native services (managed databases, serverless, AI services)
• Global edge network and CDN integration
• Mature marketplace of cloud-native add-ons
• Enterprise support with dedicated TAMs

The Hybrid Strategy

Run your Kubernetes platform on neocloud for: sovereignty, cost optimization, and portability. Use hyperscaler managed services where the integration value justifies the lock-in. GitOps (ArgoCD, Flux) manages both from a single source of truth.