8 best EU project management tools to overcome the CLOUD Act

Table of contents

Data sovereignty vs. the CLOUD Act
1. Easy8
2. OpenProject
3. MeisterTask
4. Taiga
5. Projektron BCS
6. Zenkit
7. InLoox
8. Meisterplan
How to choose European alternatives to US software

TL;DR

Compare eight European project management tools that help protect your data from CLOUD Act risks and find the best fit for secure, sovereign collaboration.

Data sovereignty vs. the CLOUD Act

The US CLOUD Act allows American authorities to compel any US-based provider to hand over data it controls, no matter where that data is physically stored. An EU data center run by a US company does not protect you. In 2025, Microsoft's own French subsidiary admitted under oath that it cannot guarantee data sovereignty against US authorities, even for data hosted in France.

For organisations looking for data sovereignty, the answer is software that is EU-owned and hosted in the European Union. Ideally, it should also be deployable on your own infrastructure.

Here are eight project management tools worth considering.

1. Easy8

Easy8 (formerly Easy Redmine) is a Private WorkOps Platform built in Prague, Czech republic, and designed from the ground up for data sovereignty. It combines Waterfall and Agile project management with resource management, helpdesk, B2B CRM, Knowledge Base, DevOps integrations, and built-in AI and n8n automations.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: No US parent company and no US infrastructure dependency. You choose where your data lives and who administers it.
• Compliance: ISO 27001, ISO 27017, GDPR-compliant, NIS2-ready. Regularly audited open-source-based code. Trusted by Bosch, Continental, AXA, and government institutions.
• Deployment: European Sovereign Cloud, private cloud (10+ EU data centers), full on-premises, and air-gapped deployment for classified or fully isolated environments.
• Best for: Mid-size to enterprise organisations in regulated industries (manufacturing, engineering, defence, public sector, IT services) that need one platform instead of a tool sprawl.

Overview of the Easy8 software - Gantt chart

2. OpenProject

OpenProject is an open-source project management platform developed in Berlin, Germany. It covers classic, Agile, and hybrid project management: Gantt charts, boards, time and cost reporting, and team collaboration.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: Fully self-hostable on your own servers, or cloud-hosted exclusively in EU data centers. Core component of openDesk, the German government's sovereign workplace initiative, and BSI-recommended for public institutions.
• Compliance: ISO 27001 certified, GDPR and German BDSG compliant. GPLv3 open source, so the code is publicly auditable.
• Deployment: Self-hosted (Community and Enterprise on-premises editions) or Enterprise Cloud hosted in the EU. Self-hosted installations can run in fully isolated, air-gapped environments.
• Best for: Public sector, NGOs, and technically capable teams that value transparency and zero vendor lock-in.

Overview of the OpenProject

3. MeisterTask

MeisterTask is a Kanban-style task management tool developed by Meister, a company founded in Germany. Although it has a visually simple and modern UI, it is not suitable for complex projects.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: EU-based company with all data hosted in Germany.
• Compliance: ISO 27001:2022 certified, GDPR and CCPA compliant. Servers located in an ISO 27001-certified data center in Frankfurt, with regular penetration tests, a bug bounty program, and Security-by-Design development practices.
• Deployment: EU cloud (SaaS) only, hosted in Frankfurt, Germany. No self-hosted, private cloud, or air-gapped option.
• Best for: Non-technical teams (marketing, HR, operations) that find enterprise PM tools overwhelming and want visual task management that works on day one.

Product overview of the MeisterTask

4. Taiga

Taiga is an open-source Agile project management platform developed by Kaleidos in Spain, built for software teams running Scrum or Kanban.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: Complete self-hosting at zero license cost. Your data never touches third-party infrastructure.
• Compliance: GDPR-compliant; the open-source codebase (AGPL) is publicly auditable. No formal ISO certification: with self-hosting, security certification depends on your own infrastructure.
• Deployment: Self-hosted (Docker-based) on your own servers, including fully isolated air-gapped environments, or Taiga Cloud hosted in the EU.
• Best for: Agile software development teams. Not ideal for enterprise PMOs. It doesn't include Gantt charts or advanced resource management.

Product overview of the Taiga

5. Projektron BCS

Projektron BCS is a comprehensive project management and ERP-adjacent platform for professional services, developed and hosted in Germany. It goes beyond task tracking with integrated controlling, strategic capacity planning, budgeting, and billing.

The Projektor UX/UI is a bit old-school and you might find it complicated to get oriented.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: German company, German-owned hosting, and a full on-premises deployment option.
• Compliance: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certified by TÜV Rheinland, ISO 9001 quality management since 2008, GDPR-compliant, with regular external audits and penetration tests.
• Deployment: On-premises on your own infrastructure, or SaaS cloud hosted exclusively in German data centers. On-premises installations can run in isolated environments.
• Best for: Professional-services firms, engineering companies, and organisations that need project management tightly coupled with financial controlling.

Product overview of the Projektron BCS

6. Zenkit

Zenkit Projects, developed in Karlsruhe, Germany, focuses on ease of use without limiting advanced users. It offers multiple views (Kanban, timeline, list, calendar), goal tracking, workload balancing, and live cross-project reporting.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: German company with all data stored and processed in Germany under GDPR and BDSG.
• Compliance: GDPR and BDSG compliant, with SAML SSO, SCIM provisioning, audit logs, and two-factor authentication for enterprise governance. Zenkit itself holds no ISO 27001 certification; it relies on the certifications of its data center provider.
• Deployment: EU cloud (SaaS) only, hosted on AWS in Frankfurt. Because the infrastructure layer is AWS, a US provider, strict sovereignty requirements may not be fully satisfied despite the German location.
• Best for: Small to mid-size teams that want flexibility.

Product overview of the Zenkit

7. InLoox

InLoox is a Munich-based project management platform with a unique angle: deep integration directly inside Microsoft Outlook, plus a web app. It covers planning, task management, documents, time tracking, and budgets.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: German headquarters, German cloud hosting, and an on-premises edition that keeps all project data on your own SQL Server infrastructure.
• Compliance: GDPR-compliant with German data hosting for the cloud edition. In the on-premises edition, data protection and certification are fully under your control.
• Deployment: InLoox Cloud hosted in Germany or InLoox on-prem on your own Windows/SQL Server infrastructure, which can run in isolated environments without internet access.
• Best for: Outlook-centric organisations that want project management embedded in the email workflow their teams already live in.

Inloox product overview

8. Meisterplan

Meisterplan, developed by Germany-based itdesign GmbH in Tübingen, is a lightweight project portfolio and resource management platform designed to help organizations prioritize projects, balance resources, and plan capacity. Its strength is top-down planning: interactive what-if scenarios, capacity planning, project scoring, and portfolio-level financials.

• Why it beats the CLOUD Act: Systems registered in the EU are hosted in the EU, with a contractual guarantee that all data is processed within the EU regardless of where users access it from.
• Compliance: ISO 27001 certified with a public Trust Center documenting its information security statement; GDPR-compliant.
• Deployment: EU cloud (SaaS) only, with guaranteed EU data processing for EU-registered systems. No on-premises, private cloud, or air-gapped option.
• Best for: PMOs and executives who need portfolio and resource decisions, not task-level execution.

Meisterplan product overview

How to choose European alternatives to US software

Ask three questions before you trust any "EU-compliant" label:

1. Who owns the company? EU headquarters with a US parent (or US acquisition) means CLOUD Act exposure. Verify whether the company has recently been bought by, or merged with, another company, because an acquisition can silently change its legal jurisdiction.

2. Who owns the infrastructure? An Europen tool hosted on AWS or Azure inherits US jurisdiction at the infrastructure layer, even in an EU region.

3. Can you self-host? On-premises or private cloud deployment is the only architecture that removes third-party jurisdiction entirely. And if you handle classified data, ask about air-gapped operation, meaning the platform runs with no internet connectivity at all.

Only a few tools on this list (Easy8, OpenProject, Taiga, and InLoox) offer genuine on-premises deployment, and of those, Easy8 is the only commercial platform explicitly supporting air-gapped environments out of the box. If your organisation handles sensitive IP, regulated data, or public-sector workloads, start there. 

Easy8 is also the strongest choice for companies looking for a secure, European-built alternative to the Atlassian stack as Jira Data Center reaches end of life.

Try Easy8 for free and see how full data sovereignty works in practice. No credit card required, and your data stays in the EU from day one.