01 / Reason
OpenShift over Kubernetes — built for enterprise
GKE gives you managed Kubernetes. OpenShift adds enterprise-grade security hardening, a developer console, stricter RBAC defaults, integrated image management, and enterprise support.
Compare · vs GKE
Enterprise OpenShift in Europe. Everything included.
GKE manages Kubernetes on Google Cloud — the platform layer is still yours. Stakater Cloud delivers managed OpenShift with GitOps, CI/CD, full observability, and more, hosted in the EU.
About GKE
What is Google Kubernetes Engine (GKE)?
GKE is Google Cloud's managed Kubernetes service. Standard GKE manages the control plane; Autopilot removes node management overhead. But the application platform layer remains your team's responsibility in both modes.
- Category
- Managed Kubernetes on GCP
- Platform layer
- Your responsibility
- EU residency
- Partial
Why teams switch
Three reasons teams move from GKE to Stakater Cloud.
02 / Reason
Autopilot does not solve the platform problem
Autopilot removes node provisioning overhead, but your CI/CD, GitOps, secrets, observability, and multi-tenancy still need platform ownership. Stakater Cloud provides the full platform layer, managed.
03 / Reason
No Google Cloud dependency for EU-regulated workloads
GKE runs on Google Cloud — a US company subject to the US CLOUD Act. For GDPR/DORA/NIS2 alignment, Stakater Cloud offers default EU deployment, Swedish operation, and ISO 27001:2022 + 9001:2015.
Side by side
How Stakater Cloud compares.
The real alternative isn't switching cloud providers — it's spending 12–18 months building this yourself with an internal platform team.
Capability
Stakater Cloud
GKE
DIY on hyperscaler
Managed OpenShift cluster
EU data residency by default
Partial
Partial
GitOps pre-configured (ArgoCD)
CI/CD pre-configured (Tekton)
Secrets management (OpenBao)
Multi-tenancy (MTO)
Observability (Prometheus / Grafana / Loki)
Basic
No hyperscaler lock-in
Predictable EU pricing
Partial
Time to first workload
< 15 min
Days–weeks
Months
Migration path
From GKE to Stakater Cloud in three steps.
A real migration plan, run alongside your team. No two-week sales pitch dressed up as discovery.
- 01 / Step
Map your GKE workloads
We scope your existing GKE setup — clusters, workloads, data volumes, integrations, compliance posture. Honest assessment of what moves cleanly and what needs care.
- 02 / Step
Stand up the Stakater Cloud target
Your dedicated OpenShift cluster is provisioned in under 15 minutes, EU-hosted, with the full platform layer pre-wired — GitOps, CI/CD, observability, secrets, multi-tenancy.
- 03 / Step
Migrate workloads with our SRE
Stakater SRE runs the migration alongside your team. Containerised workloads move first; data, integrations, and DNS cutover are scheduled around your risk tolerance.
Stakater Cloud vs GKE — FAQ
Honest answers, no marketing copy.
Is GKE the same as OpenShift? +
No. GKE is managed Kubernetes on Google Cloud. OpenShift is an enterprise application platform built on Kubernetes — it adds security hardening, developer console, integrated image registry, stricter default RBAC, built-in developer tooling, and enterprise support from Red Hat.
Does GKE Autopilot solve the platform engineering problem? +
Autopilot removes node provisioning, but the application platform — GitOps, CI/CD, secrets, observability, multi-tenancy, compliance tooling — is still your responsibility. Stakater Cloud provides the managed platform layer.
Is GKE suitable for EU-regulated workloads? +
GKE runs on Google Cloud, a US-headquartered company subject to the US CLOUD Act. Stakater Cloud is default EU, Swedish-operated, ISO 27001:2022 certified.
What does Stakater Cloud include that GKE does not? +
Managed OpenShift plus a complete pre-configured platform: ArgoCD, Tekton, OpenBao, full observability, MTO, Velero, RHACS, and more. GKE gives you Kubernetes — the rest is yours to build.
Can I move workloads from GKE to Stakater Cloud? +
Yes. We help teams migrate containerised workloads. Book a call to assess.
Get Started
Want a side-by-side review of GKE and Stakater Cloud?
Book a 30-minute call. We'll show you exactly how Stakater Cloud stacks up against GKE for your specific workload — no sales pitch, just an honest conversation.