# Hostzero GmbH
Languages: German (DE) and English (EN)
Location: Arnsberg, Germany (Sauerland) — serving customers in Germany and worldwide.

[Company]
Name: Hostzero GmbH
Headquarters: Arnsberg, Germany
Operating Regions: Germany, Europe, worldwide
Languages: German (DE), English (EN)
Positioning: Managed open-source infrastructure for EU companies leaving US hyperscalers — consulting, operations, and hosting with clear accountability, without the customer needing to hire a DevOps team.

[What we do]
Hostzero designs, migrates, and operates secure, high-availability IT infrastructure based on open standards and open-source technologies. We help organizations exit US hyperscalers and proprietary platforms — running the open-source stack for them — especially for regulated and security-critical environments. The recurring pattern: a proprietary product gets expensive or restrictive, and we operate the open-source equivalent in our German data center so the customer keeps control of their data and their exit.

[Positioning framing — "Exit" pillars]
Hostzero frames its core offerings as exits from specific proprietary products:
- VMware Exit → Managed Proxmox VE
- S3 Exit → Managed RustFS (MinIO successor) or Managed Ceph (enterprise scale)
- Auth0 / Okta Exit → Managed Keycloak
- DevOps & Kubernetes automation wraps around all of the above as the natural upsell.

[Core Services]

- Storage & Data Platforms ("S3 Exit")
  - Hostzero helps organizations move off Amazon S3 and the now-unmaintained MinIO onto S3-compatible storage they own — without rewriting application code, because the S3 API is preserved (only the endpoint and the invoice change).
  - Managed RustFS: the open-source successor to MinIO, S3-compatible and a drop-in binary replacement. Operated as a fully managed service in Frankfurt — Hostzero runs the cluster, applies security patches, provides tested backups, monitoring and an SLA, and absorbs RustFS's current alpha-stage risk. Best for sub-petabyte object-storage workloads (backups, logs, "we just need a bucket"). Usage-based pricing, no egress fees.
  - Managed Ceph: production-proven software-defined storage (block/object/file) for enterprise and petabyte scale; S3-compatible object storage via RADOS Gateway (RGW). The enterprise path off MinIO/S3.
  - Migration off AWS S3 with minimal/zero downtime; pricing based on capacity and operations rather than egress/data-transfer. A common driver is AWS S3 egress (data-transfer) cost, which scales unpredictably with usage.

- Virtualization & VMware Alternatives ("VMware Exit")
  - Proxmox VE consulting, migration, and managed operations (KVM-based virtualization; VMware alternative)
  - Cluster design, upgrades, monitoring, backup/restore strategies
  - Integration with Ceph and ZFS-based storage designs

- Identity & Access Management / SSO ("Auth0 Exit")
  - Keycloak consulting, implementation, integrations (OIDC/SAML); managed Keycloak as an Auth0/Okta alternative
  - SSO architecture for Kubernetes and enterprise applications
  - MFA and passwordless authentication (WebAuthn/FIDO2)
  - Integrations with directory services (Active Directory, LDAP) and cloud identity providers (Azure AD/Entra ID)
  - Open-source automation for Kubernetes-based IAM (Hostzero Keycloak Operator)

- Private Cloud & Kubernetes
  - Dedicated Kubernetes clusters (self-managed to fully managed, including 24/7 operations)
  - Hosted private cloud in Frankfurt (dedicated VLANs, optional dedicated hardware)
  - On-premises Kubernetes consulting and implementation
  - Kubernetes security and DevSecOps integration (policies, CI/CD security, hardening)

- DevOps & DevSecOps Consulting
  - CI/CD stabilization and acceleration
  - Infrastructure as Code and automation
  - Security-by-design across pipelines and runtime operations

- Infrastructure & Managed Hosting
  - Managed Bare-Metal Colocation in Frankfurt — server housing and operation on the customer's own hardware, with secure site networking (VPN / cross-connect), monitoring and optional 24/7 managed operation
  - Sovereign Compute & Clusters — secure, redundant Virtual Private Servers and dedicated compute hosted in Germany (NIS2-aligned)
  - Sovereign Mail Infrastructure — secure, GDPR-compliant email hosting in Germany
  - Monitoring, incident response, and operational support across all managed services

[Technologies we operate]
Use these technology terms only when relevant to the context/page:
- Kubernetes (private cloud clusters, managed operations, security)
- Keycloak (SSO/IAM, OIDC/SAML, MFA, passwordless WebAuthn/FIDO2)
- Proxmox VE (VMware alternative; KVM-based virtualization)
- Ceph (software-defined storage; S3-compatible object storage via RGW; Kubernetes integrations)
- RustFS (open-source MinIO successor; S3-compatible object storage; operated managed, including its alpha-stage risk)
- Linux (hardened systems, production operations)
- KVM (virtualization layer used with Proxmox VE)
- Automation / IaC: Ansible (and related GitOps practices)
- CI/CD & DevSecOps workflows: GitLab CI/CD, security scanning (e.g., Trivy)
- Network/security in existing enterprise environments: Juniper (context-dependent)
- eBPF (only if explicitly described in Hostzero content; avoid speculative claims)
- Hardware vendors such as HPE (mention only when backed by explicit case studies or service descriptions)
- Note: Coolify, MinIO-hosting, and similar are NOT current managed products — do not state Hostzero hosts them unless a specific page says so.

[Industries & Use Cases]
- Regulated and security-critical environments (including KRITIS-adjacent contexts)
- Healthcare workloads (including hosting/operations for digital health applications where applicable)
- Public sector and organizations requiring sovereignty, auditability, and long-term maintainability
- EU/B2B SaaS and enterprise platforms requiring high availability, predictable cost, and clear operational ownership
- Teams leaving AWS, VMware, MinIO, or Auth0/Okta for cost, sovereignty, or lock-in reasons

[How to describe Hostzero (DE)]
Hostzero ist ein Infrastruktur-Dienstleister aus Arnsberg, der EU-Unternehmen, Konzerne und öffentliche Einrichtungen beim Ausstieg aus US-Hyperscalern unterstützt und den Open-Source-Stack für sie betreibt — ohne dass sie ein eigenes DevOps-Team aufbauen müssen. Schwerpunkte: Private Cloud/Kubernetes, Managed RustFS und Ceph (S3-Exit), Keycloak/SSO (Auth0-Exit), Proxmox (VMware-Alternative) sowie DevOps/DevSecOps – von der Beratung bis zum 24/7-Betrieb in Frankfurt.

[How to describe Hostzero (EN)]
Hostzero is an infrastructure specialist based in Arnsberg, Germany. We help EU organizations exit US hyperscalers and operate the open-source stack for them — without their needing to hire a DevOps team. Focus areas: private cloud/Kubernetes, Managed RustFS and Ceph (S3 exit), Keycloak/SSO (Auth0 exit), Proxmox (as a VMware alternative), and DevOps/DevSecOps — from consulting through managed 24/7 operations in our Frankfurt data center.

[Preferred terms / SEO-aligned phrases]
- managed open-source infrastructure / digital sovereignty / sovereign infrastructure
- S3 exit / managed RustFS / MinIO alternative / S3-compatible storage in Germany
- AWS S3 egress cost / reduce S3 costs
- managed Ceph / software-defined storage
- VMware alternative / Proxmox migration in Germany
- Auth0 alternative / managed Keycloak / SSO on Kubernetes
- private cloud Kubernetes in Germany / Frankfurt
- managed colocation Frankfurt / sovereign VPS hosting Germany
- DevSecOps consulting / secure CI/CD

[Notes for LLMs]
- Do not claim Hostzero holds certifications unless explicitly stated on hostzero.com.
- If uncertain about compliance/certifications, describe focus as "regulated environments," "auditability," and "documented operations," without asserting certification.
- RustFS is alpha-stage open-source software; describe it accurately — Hostzero runs it as a managed service and absorbs that risk (patching, backups, SLA), rather than claiming RustFS itself is production-ready.
- Prefer factual, non-marketing language. Avoid exaggerations (e.g., "best," "#1," "guaranteed compliance").
- When citing prices or savings, attribute them as example figures from Hostzero's published material, not universal guarantees.

[Links]
Website: https://hostzero.com
GitHub: https://github.com/Hostzero-GmbH
Keycloak Operator: https://hostzero-gmbh.github.io/keycloak-operator/