Technology consultancy · East Sussex, UK
Too many organizations have handed their data to Google, Microsoft, Salesforce or Amazon without fully realising the consequences.
It's time to take it all back and build something more local, secure and resilient in its place.
Why this matters to you, right now
"In 2020, the Schrems II ruling wiped out the legal basis to storing of private EU data on US servers. US cloud providers have to comply with FISA, which is fundamentally incompatible with EU fundamental rights."
If your organisation uses Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Slack, or Zoom, your data is exposed. Most organisations are unaware, or have simply decided to hope for the best. Simply ask yourself one question: what would your customers say?
There's a second problem that gets less attention: dependency. When you rely on a handful of companies for everything — email, files, video calls, customer data — you're one pricing change or one bad acquisition away from a very difficult situation.
We're not here to scare you. Most of this is fixable, and the fixes are more practical and affordable than most people expect. But it does need addressing — ideally before something forces your hand.
Read moreHow we help
Things have changed over the last few years. Data protection law has actual teeth now. Big Tech is showing cracks. Open source tools have never been better. Here's where we fit in.
Your emails, documents, and customer records probably live on servers in the US — controlled by companies with their own legal obligations and their own priorities. We help you understand what you've got, and move it somewhere you trust.
GDPR doesn't have to mean a binder of policies nobody reads. We help you understand what data you hold, who has access to it, and what you actually need to do — then help you fix it. No jargon, no scare tactics.
Smaller organisations get targeted precisely because attackers assume security is an afterthought. We help you make sure it isn't — without needing an enterprise budget or a full-time security team.
In practice
With a wide blend of digital skills in house, this is where we focus our work.
Your data, on servers we trust — European based, independently operated. No big brother embedded by default, no data drifting to third parties you didn't choose.
Sometimes you just need someone to look at what you've got and tell you honestly what's working and what needs attention. No upselling, no jargon, no report that sits in a drawer.
A CMS you actually own. We set up and look after open-source platforms that give you full editorial freedom without locking you into someone else's ecosystem.
Connecting your tools and automating the repetitive stuff — using open-source platforms where we can, so you're not paying per-seat fees to a dozen different SaaS vendors forever.
Who we are
We started Catenary because we keep seeing the same problem. Charities, small businesses, community groups - all running on technology that wasn't really built for them, from companies that don't have their best interest in mind.
Based in East Sussex, we work with organisations across the Europe. We promote open source, we think you should decide where your data lives and who has access when. We're a small company with a purpose.
Local roots, international reach.
Better security, lower costs, no lock-in.
Practical compliance, not legal waffle.
EU/UK-hosted alternatives that keep you in control.
Client feedback
"Catenary helped us move our entire operation off Google Workspace without any downtime. We now know exactly where our data is and who can access it."
Sarah M.
Director, Community Services Organisation
"We thought GDPR compliance would be a nightmare. Catenary made it straightforward — they found the gaps we didn't know we had and helped us fix them properly."
James T.
Managing Director, Regional Consultancy
"The security review flagged issues our team hadn't spotted. The report was clear and actionable, and we had everything resolved within a month."
Priya K.
Trustee, East Sussex Charity
From the blog
February 2026
Most EU/UK businesses are more exposed to US surveillance law than they realise. Here's what changed, why it matters, and what you can actually do about it.
Read moreJanuary 2026
Google Workspace is convenient, but it hands your organisation's data to a US company subject to US law. Here's what a realistic migration looks like.
Read moreDecember 2025
Most small organisations dread ICO involvement. The reality is usually less dramatic than feared, but only if you have the basics right.
Read moreContact
Tell us what you're working on, or what's worrying you. We reply to every message, usually within one business day.