Compliance Briefing — September 12, 2025

Executive briefing: Article 25 of Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 requires providers of data processing services—including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, and edge platforms—to remove commercial, technical, and contractual barriers that prevent customers from switching to other services. From September 12, 2025, providers must deliver functional equivalence documentation, publish switching procedures, and phase out termination fees, while customers gain the right to port data and digital assets in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

Key compliance checkpoints

Switching policy publication. Document processes, notice periods, and supported export formats, making them accessible via customer portals and contracts.
Fee governance. Review pricing catalogues to remove charges for switching support beyond cost-based fees allowed during a limited transition window.
Interoperability testing. Validate that APIs, schemas, and metadata exports meet the interoperability specifications referenced in the forthcoming implementing acts.

Operational priorities

Customer communication. Notify EU clients of updated contractual rights, offering migration toolkits and support SLAs.
Third-party assurance. Engage auditors to attest that switching controls and data portability tooling work as described, reducing regulatory scrutiny.
Incident readiness. Prepare escalation paths for complaints raised with national authorities when switching requests fail or exceed the mandated timelines.

Enablement moves

Coordinate with industry initiatives such as Gaia-X and CISPE to align on reference architectures and portability standards.
Integrate switching telemetry into product analytics to monitor completion rates, failure causes, and support workload.

Sources

Zeph Tech equips cloud and SaaS providers with playbooks that operationalise Data Act switching rights while preserving resilience and customer trust.