Compare Scaleway and Webswing on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure
France· Cloud Computing
Needs review
Shortlist Scaleway for French-owned multi-AZ IaaS (Paris/Amsterdam/Warsaw) with bare metal, EU-resident GPUs and Kapsule Kubernetes—especially HDS/sovereignty-sensitive stacks. Skip if you need completed SecNumCloud today or hyperscaler global depth; consider OVHcloud, Exoscale/UpCloud, or AWS/Azure/GCP instead.
Ireland· Cloud Computing
Needs review
Shortlist when you must browser-enable an existing Java Swing/JavaFX/SWT/NetBeans or Oracle Forms estate without a rewrite and can run a self-hosted session tier. Skip when you are building a greenfield web UI only, or when the app depends on video, 3D acceleration, or ultra-low-latency graphics. Consider Citrix/VDI or a hyperscaler cloud desktop when you need generic desktop remoting beyond Java UI toolkits.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Scaleway | Webswing |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | France | Ireland |
| Category | Cloud Computing | Cloud Computing |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | France | Ireland |
| Legal entity | SCALEWAY SAS (R.C.S. Paris 433 115 904), 8 rue de la Ville l'Évêque, 75008 Paris | WEBSWING LIMITED (Webswing Ltd.), 93 Upper George's Street, Dun Laoghaire, A96 V1K8 Dublin, Ireland |
| Governing law | French law (General Terms of Services) | Ireland |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Low | Low |
| EU-hosted status | Not listed | Unknown |
| Hosting / residency | Customer cloud workloads on Scaleway-operated European multi-AZ infrastructure (Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw; Milan listed in availability docs)—not primary hosting on AWS/GCP/Azure. Account/controller activities use processors; privacy policy allows some non-EU transfers under SCCs. Full named subprocessor table is via Trust Center/contracts rather than a fully public marketing page. | Product runtime is customer-operated (on-prem, customer cloud, Docker, or Kubernetes). Vendor Client Portal and marketing site use listed processors including Google Ireland, Meta Ireland, LinkedIn Ireland, and The Rocket Science Group LLC (US) for email marketing; those apply to vendor website/portal data, not to self-hosted application sessions. |
| Summary | French iliad-group cloud platform: bare metal, virtual instances, EU-resident GPU for AI, managed Kubernetes, serverless, storage and databases on Scaleway-operated multi-AZ regions in Europe. | Self-hosted platform that runs Java Swing, JavaFX, SWT, NetBeans, and Oracle Forms apps in the browser without rewriting them. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Scaleway | Webswing |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Paris, France (SCALEWAY SAS) | Dublin, Ireland |
| Group | iliad Group subsidiary | Not listed |
| Regions | Paris, Amsterdam, Warsaw multi-AZ (+ Milan listed) | Not listed |
| Model | Public cloud IaaS/PaaS (not self-hosted) | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Pay-as-you-go; compute Savings Plans (GPU rules differ) | Not listed |
| Open source | Platform proprietary; open standards (K8s, S3 API, Terraform) | Not listed |
| Legal entity | Not listed | WEBSWING LIMITED (CRO 564226) |
| Founded | Not listed | 2015 (Dublin); product lineage from ~2012 |
| License model | Not listed | Commercial + SLA (evaluation available); AGPL only ≤20.2 |
| Deployment | Not listed | Self-hosted (ZIP, Docker, Kubernetes, cluster) |
| UI frameworks | Not listed | Swing, JavaFX, SWT, NetBeans, Applets, Oracle Forms |
| Key capabilities | Scaleway | Webswing |
|---|---|---|
| EU-operated regions | Yes | Yes |
| Bare metal + Elastic Metal | Yes | Not listed |
| EU GPU for AI | Yes | Not listed |
| Kapsule Kubernetes | Yes | Not listed |
| ISO 27001 (certified) | Yes | Yes |
| HDS (claimed) | Yes | Not listed |
| Self-hosted | Not listed | Yes |
| No-rewrite Java UI | Not listed | Yes |
| Oracle Forms capable | Not listed | Yes |
Elastic Metal, Dedibox and Apple Silicon bare metal
Single-tenant physical servers without a shared hypervisor layer: Dedibox for a wide dedicated catalogue, Elastic Metal for bare metal integrated with Scaleway VPC, load balancing, storage and Kubernetes, plus Apple Silicon Mac mini hosts for native macOS/iOS CI. Best when you need hardware isolation, custom kernels, or GPU bare metal without VM overhead—product lines are still converging, so compare availability zone coverage per SKU.
EU-resident GPU instances for AI training and inference
On-demand GPU VMs with recent NVIDIA options (including L4, L40S, H100 PCIe/SXM and B300-SXM) aimed at LLM fine-tuning, inference and graphics/media acceleration, with data residency in European regions. Integrates with Kapsule via the NVIDIA GPU Operator; pay-as-you-go by the minute. GPU capacity and Savings Plan eligibility differ from general instances—validate stock and zone before committing multi-node jobs.
Kubernetes Kapsule and multi-cloud Kosmos
Managed Kubernetes control planes on Scaleway nodes (Kapsule) with autoscaling-oriented operations, plus Kosmos for hybrid/multi-cloud worker pools including non-Scaleway infrastructure. Suits teams standardising on portable Kubernetes rather than proprietary orchestrators; external Kosmos pools remain your responsibility to patch and size.
Multi-AZ European regions with VPC networking
Place compute and storage in Paris, Amsterdam and Warsaw multi-AZ regions (docs also reference Milan), using regional private networking, load balancers and related network services. Useful for EU latency and residency designs without a US region on the primary map—confirm each product’s AZ matrix in the product-availability guide before multi-region DR planning.
Managed storage and databases on open-ish APIs
S3-compatible Object Storage (including multi-AZ class options), block volumes, and managed database engines (PostgreSQL, MySQL, Redis, MongoDB, ClickHouse-oriented analytics) plus serverless containers/functions/jobs. Reduces day-2 ops for common stack pieces while keeping export paths closer to open standards than pure proprietary PaaS—always check engine versions, HA options and backup retention for production.
API, CLI and Terraform-first operations
Full console plus documented APIs, CLI and Infrastructure-as-Code workflows for provisioning instances, networks and managed services. Fits platform teams automating environments; IAM permissions and account Owner roles still need deliberate design for production orgs.
Browser delivery without rewriting Java UI
Runs Swing, JavaFX, SWT, NetBeans Platform, Applets, and Oracle Forms in HTML5 browsers over WebSockets with no required source changes. End users need a browser only, not a local JRE or plugin.
Customer-controlled self-hosted runtime
Install from a distribution ZIP or containers on your own servers, VMs, Docker, or Kubernetes. Standalone and Cluster Engine modes cover single-node pilots through multi-node scale-out with admin monitoring.
Incremental modernisation beside legacy screens
Modernisation Framework and JsLink let React, Angular, Vue, Vaadin, or APEX components coexist with Java UI so teams can rewrite modules over time instead of a big-bang cutover.
Enterprise auth and session operations
Pluggable security modules include SAML2, OpenID Connect, Keycloak, LDAP, and custom providers. Admin Console adds session mirror view, recording/playback, logs, and multi-tenant path isolation.
Built-in printing, files, and clipboard bridges
Browser-side printing with preview, isolated upload/download folders, and clipboard integration cover common desktop workflows that break in naive remote-app setups.
| Assurance & compliance | Scaleway | Webswing |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not applicable IaaS provider (not a no-logs VPN). Trust Center references penetration testing and security reports available on request; not a public no-logs audit product claim. | On request / NDA Footer states regular security testing is available upon request; no public independent audit PDF found. |
| ISO 27001 | Verified ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certificate documentation published (e.g. certificate IS 787020 for SCALEWAY, Paris). Confirm scope covers the services you buy. | Vendor claimed Site footer: Webswing Limited maintains an ISO/IEC 27001-certified ISMS. Independent cert registry entry not verified in this pass. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found Not listed among public Trust Center compliance badges reviewed (GDPR, HDS, ISO 27001, CSA STAR L1). | Not found No SOC 2/3 claim found on public site pages reviewed. |
| HDS (French health data hosting) | Vendor claimed Vendor security and healthcare pages claim HDS certification; Trust Center lists HDS. Confirm certified service scope for your architecture. | Not listed |
| CSA STAR Level 1 | Vendor claimed Trust Center announces CSA STAR Level 1 (CCM self-assessment / CAIQ). | Not listed |
| ANSSI SecNumCloud | Partial Qualification process started (public news); security pages mark SecNumCloud as ongoing—not obtained as a finished qualification in sources reviewed. | Not listed |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed EU controller/processor with published privacy policy and DPA; French entity. Not legal advice. | Vendor claimed Privacy policy names WEBSWING LIMITED as Irish controller under GDPR; FAQ states GDPR alignment for company contact data. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial French SAS / iliad Group; customer IaaS on self-operated EU regions; no US parent found. Controller-side processors and possible third-country transfers per privacy policy; SecNumCloud not complete. Assessment only—not a vendor “safe” claim. | Partial EU entity with no known US parent; self-hosted runtime keeps sessions on customer infra. Vendor website/portal lists US-group processor The Rocket Science Group LLC (email) plus Google/Meta/LinkedIn Ireland entities for analytics/ads. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Vendor claimed DPA PDF downloadable on https://www.scaleway.com/en/contracts/ alongside TOMs. | Not found Privacy policy references Art. 28 DPAs with Webswing's own processors; no public customer-facing DPA download found. Request during procurement. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Infrastructure/GPU host; customer models and apps drive AI Act roles. Not an AI Act conformity product claim. | Not applicable Core product is application delivery/runtime, not an AI system. Prague research affiliate explores AI; not the catalogued product. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Scaleway | Webswing |
|---|---|---|
| SecNumCloud not yet obtained | Medium ANSSI SecNumCloud is in progress on public materials. Regulated French public-sector tenders that hard-require a qualified cloud today may need another SKU/provider or a delayed migration plan. | Not listed |
| Smaller service catalogue than US hyperscalers | Medium Expect fewer proprietary managed services and less global region density than AWS/Azure/GCP. Multi-cloud or complementary SaaS may still be required for parts of the estate. | Not listed |
| Account-plane processors and possible non-EU transfers | Low Even with EU workload regions, privacy policy allows processor use and SCC-backed transfers for some controller purposes (support, payments, marketing, etc.). Pull the live subprocessor list for DPIAs. | Not listed |
| Shared responsibility for guest security | Medium Scaleway secures the platform; you own OS hardening, IAM, application security, encryption keys and backups. Recent Trust Center advisories on kernel issues illustrate customer patching duties on instances and Kapsule nodes. | Not listed |
| Dedibox vs Elastic Metal product split | Low Two bare-metal experiences still coexist while Scaleway documents convergence. Mis-choosing the line can affect API integration, networking features and migration effort. | Not listed |
| Higher per-session server resources | Not listed | Medium Docs state each browser session needs more server CPU/memory than a native web app. Capacity planning and Cluster Engine matter for large concurrent user counts. |
| Video, 3D, and low-latency limits | Not listed | Medium Official overview: video not supported, limited sound, no 3D hardware acceleration, poor fit for real-time action games due to rendering latency. |
| Proprietary licensing since 21.1 | Not listed | Low Current releases require commercial license + SLA. AGPL/public source stopped after 20.2. Source access for licensed customers is via Client Portal rather than a public repo. |
| Vendor portal/marketing US-group processors | Not listed | Low Privacy policy lists The Rocket Science Group LLC and major ad/analytics vendors for website/portal data. Irrelevant to on-prem session pixels, but relevant if you put sensitive personal data only into vendor portals. |
| ISO 27001 not independently verified here | Not listed | Low Vendor claims ISO/IEC 27001-certified ISMS on the site footer. Ask for the current certificate and scope before treating it as verified. |
When: You need completed SecNumCloud-qualified private cloud or a larger non-EU region footprint under one European operator
Consider: OVHcloud
Compare exact qualified product SKUs and region maps; OVH and Scaleway are both French industrial clouds with different strengths.
When: You want simpler EU VPS/dedicated economics with a smaller product surface
Consider: UpCloud, Exoscale, or Cyso Cloud
Leaner catalogues; validate GPU, HDS and multi-AZ needs separately.
When: You need maximum global managed-service depth and partner ecosystem
Consider: Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, or Google Cloud Platform
Accept US-parent CLOUD Act exposure and design residency/controls explicitly.
When: German SMB hosting plus EU cloud under a DE-centric brand is the priority
Consider: IONOS
Different product mix and market focus than Scaleway’s developer/AI-oriented public cloud.
When: You need generic Windows/Linux desktop remoting rather than Java UI toolkit remoting
Consider: Citrix / enterprise VDI, or Microsoft Azure Virtual Desktop
Webswing FAQ positions itself as a narrower alternative to Citrix for Forms/Java estates.
When: You are rewriting the UI entirely and have no need to keep Swing/Forms screens running
Consider: Native web frameworks (React, Angular, Vue) or Oracle APEX without a Webswing bridge
Webswing's Modernisation Framework is for coexistence during migration, not a mandatory layer for new UIs.
When: You want a hyperscaler-managed browser app streaming control plane
Consider: AWS AppStream / WorkSpaces-class services or Azure cloud desktop offerings
Trade self-hosted EU software control for managed cloud operations.