DESAmedia ·

The short answer

If your CRM, ERP, warehouse or other business system runs as a cloud service (SaaS), the EU Data Act already gives you the right to leave with your data: on terms known in advance, within fixed deadlines and in a structured, machine-readable format. From 12 January 2027, providers can no longer charge any switching fees, including data egress charges. Until then, they may only charge their direct switching costs.

The law will not move your data for you, though. A smooth exit needs three things: a contract that spells out the exit terms, a data export you have tested in advance, and a migration plan covering a parallel run, a cut-over day and confirmation that your data has been deleted. This guide looks at all of it from the buyer's side. We checked the legal texts on 5 November 2026. It is practical guidance, not legal advice, so have a lawyer review your specific contract.

Why this is worth thinking about now

Companies usually start thinking about leaving a SaaS platform for ordinary reasons: the subscription price goes up, the system no longer fits how they work, the integrations they need sit in the most expensive tier, or the vendor gets acquired and changes direction. The trouble is that the exit gets planned in a hurry. That is when people discover that some data cannot be exported, attachment history does not come along, and the notice period runs for months.

The Data Act changes this picture. Regulation (EU) 2023/2854 has applied since 12 September 2025, and its Chapter VI deals specifically with switching between data processing services, meaning cloud and similar services. The European Commission's explainer says plainly that platform and software as a service providers (PaaS and SaaS) must offer open interfaces and at least export data in a commonly used, machine-readable format.

In Lithuania, the Communications Regulatory Authority (RRT) has supervised the Data Act since 1 August 2026. Its website lists non-compliance with the rules on switching cloud providers as one of the situations in which you can file a complaint.

What the Data Act guarantees a departing customer

Mandatory exit terms in the contract

Article 25 requires the customer's rights and the provider's obligations on switching to be set out clearly in a written contract, made available to the customer before signing. The contract must include at least:

  • A notice period of no more than 2 months before the switching process starts.
  • A transition period of up to 30 calendar days. During it the contract stays in force, the provider keeps delivering the service, gives reasonable assistance to you and your new vendor, maintains security and flags known risks. If 30 days is technically unfeasible, the provider must justify this within 14 working days and propose an alternative period of no more than 7 months. The customer may also extend the transition period once.
  • An exhaustive list of the data and digital assets that can be ported, covering at least all so-called exportable data.
  • A data retrieval period of at least 30 calendar days after the transition period ends.
  • Full erasure of the data once the retrieval period expires, provided the switch has completed.
  • A duty to support your exit strategy and provide the information you need.

Format information before you sign

Under Article 26, the provider must tell you about the available switching and porting methods, formats and known technical restrictions, and point you to an up-to-date online register of the data structures, formats and standards used for exportable data. In practice, before signing you can simply ask: "Show us the format we will get our data in."

Open interfaces and machine-readable export

Article 30 requires SaaS and similar providers to make open interfaces (APIs) available free of charge and on equal terms to customers and to the new provider. Until common interoperability specifications or standards are published for a given service type, the provider must, at the customer's request, export all exportable data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.

Switching charges before and after 12 January 2027

Article 29 phases out switching charges:

Period What the provider may charge for switching
11 Jan 2024 to 12 Jan 2027 Reduced charges, no higher than the provider's direct switching costs
From 12 Jan 2027 No switching charges at all

One detail matters a lot. The regulation defines switching charges as charges for the actions needed to switch, including data egress, but not standard service fees and not early termination penalties. So you will most likely keep paying your normal subscription during the notice and transition periods, and a fixed-term contract may still carry a contractual early termination fee. Before you sign, the provider must clearly disclose its standard fees, any early termination penalties and any reduced switching charges.

What the Data Act does not solve

Not everything counts as exportable data

The regulation defines exportable data as input and output data, including metadata, generated by your use of the service. It excludes assets and data protected by the provider's or third parties' intellectual property or trade secrets. Customer records, orders, invoices, comments and attachments are your data. The vendor's reporting logic, automation engine or the application itself usually are not part of the export. Expect to rebuild workflows, permission structures and reports in the new system.

Moving the data is your project

The provider has to hand the data over, but nobody is obliged to clean it, rename fields, merge duplicates and load it into the new system for you. That is a migration project with its own budget, testing and a named owner.

Custom-built services have exemptions

Article 31 exempts certain services from part of the switching rules, including the ban on switching charges in Article 29. It covers services where most main features were built for a specific customer and that are not offered at broad commercial scale through the provider's service catalogue. The provider must tell you before the contract which obligations do not apply. If you commission a bespoke system that the vendor hosts for you, write the exit terms, code handover and data handover into the contract yourself, because the regulation alone will not cover you. We covered what to ask about code and data ownership in how to choose a software development partner.

Non-production trial versions offered for a limited time are fully outside Chapter VI.

Possible changes through the Digital Omnibus

On 19 November 2025 the European Commission proposed a Digital Omnibus package that would, among other things, amend the Data Act's switching rules. Under the proposal, some switching obligations would not apply to contracts concluded before 12 September 2025 where the service is highly customised or the provider is an SME or small mid-cap (infrastructure services excluded). It would also explicitly allow proportionate early termination penalties in fixed-term contracts for SaaS-type services.

As of early November 2026 this is still only a proposal. The EU Council agreed its negotiating mandate on 21 October 2026 and the European Parliament has not yet adopted a position. If your contract with a small SaaS vendor was signed before September 2025, keep an eye on how the negotiations end.

A migration plan in 7 steps

Here is a practical plan for moving from one system to another. It works whether you are replacing one SaaS product with another or moving to a custom system.

1. Gather the contract and all its annexes

Find the main agreement, the terms of service, the data processing agreement and the price list. Note the term and renewal rules, the notice period, any termination penalties, any switching charges and the export formats. If these terms are missing or conflict with Article 25, ask the vendor to provide them in writing.

2. Build a data inventory

List what the system holds: customers and contacts, deals, orders, invoices, the product catalogue, attachments and files, communication history, audit logs, users and their permissions. Mark each item as either needed in the new system or fine to archive. Ten years of email history often does not need to go into the new CRM; a secure archive is enough.

3. Test the export before you give notice

Run a full test export through the API or admin tools. Check that relationships between records survive (which order belongs to which customer), that dates, currencies and Lithuanian characters come through intact, and that attachments are exported with links back to their records. This step usually reveals the real size of the migration.

4. Map fields and agree on data cleaning

Create a table with three columns: old field, new field, transformation. This is where duplicates, free-text fields that should be lists and legacy status names come to light. Agree the cleaning rules with the business owners, not just the developers. If the new system needs to connect to your accounting software, see our article on integrating Rivilė, Directo and Agnum.

5. Plan the timeline around the contract

Put the dates on a calendar: the notice period (up to 2 months), the transition period (up to 30 days unless agreed otherwise) and the retrieval period (at least 30 days). Do the trial migrations before you give notice, and keep the transition period for the final migration and checks. If 30 days looks tight, use your right to extend the transition period once straight away.

6. Parallel run and cut-over

Run both systems in parallel for a few days or weeks: the old one read-only, the new one live. On cut-over day, run the final export, load the changes since the last trial migration and check control totals such as record counts, the value of open deals and the balance of unpaid invoices.

7. Archive and confirm erasure

Before the retrieval period ends, take a full archive copy. Then ask the vendor to confirm in writing that the exportable data has been erased, as Article 25 requires. If the system held personal data, align the erasure with your data processing agreement under the GDPR.

Example: a distributor replaces its CRM

The company is fictional and the example is illustrative.

Northline Trading, a wholesale distributor, has used a SaaS CRM with 40 users for five years. The vendor announces new pricing, and the warehouse integration the company needs is only available in a higher tier. Management decides to switch.

  1. In January the team reviews the contract and asks the vendor for the export format documentation and the link to its data structure register. It turns out that attachments are exported separately from records, so an extra matching step is needed.
  2. In February they run two trial migrations into the new system. In the second one, customer counts, open deal counts and totals all match.
  3. In early March they send a switching notice naming the new provider. Because this happens after 12 January 2027, the vendor cannot charge a switching fee. The normal subscription for the notice period is still paid.
  4. During the transition period the team works in the new system and keeps the old one read-only. During the retrieval period they take an archive copy and receive written confirmation that the data has been erased.

The key lesson: most of the work happens before the notice goes out. Done that way, the legal deadlines become a convenient project frame rather than a threat.

What to check when choosing the next system

While you are leaving one system, make the next exit easier:

  • Does the vendor provide an API and a description of its data structures at no extra cost?
  • Can you run a full export yourself at any time, without going through support?
  • Does the contract include the Article 25 terms and clear early termination fees?
  • If the system is custom-built, does the contract say the code and data belong to you, and how handover to another vendor will work?
  • Will a system you plan to use for five years really cost what you expect? We compare off-the-shelf and custom costs in Odoo vs a custom business management system, and break down custom build costs in how much custom software development costs.

If you are choosing a CRM, our comparison of off-the-shelf vs custom CRM is also worth a read.

FAQ

Does the Data Act apply to a SaaS contract signed before September 2025?

The regulation has applied since 12 September 2025, and legal commentators generally read the Chapter VI switching obligations as covering existing contracts too. The Digital Omnibus proposal would exempt some contracts concluded before that date, but as of early November 2026 it has not been adopted.

Can I end an annual contract early without paying the remainder?

The Data Act gives you the right to switch and port your data, but early termination penalties are not switching charges by definition. Whether a penalty applies, and how much, depends on your contract and whether it is proportionate, so it is worth checking with a lawyer.

What if the vendor does not hand over our data?

Start with a written request citing Articles 25 and 30 of the regulation and your contract terms. If that does not work, in Lithuania you can file a complaint with RRT about non-compliance with the cloud switching rules.

Does the Data Act apply to our custom-built system?

If the system is hosted in the vendor's cloud and most of its features were built specifically for you, some obligations, including the ban on switching charges, may not apply. In that case the handover of code, data and access must be written into the contract.

How long does a migration take?

It depends on data volume, data quality and integrations. A single-module CRM with clean data can take a few weeks; an ERP with warehouse and accounting integrations can take several months. The legal deadlines (2 months' notice and 30 days of transition) are the upper limit for the vendor, not the length of your project, so do the trial migrations early.

Next steps

Start with two simple actions: find the contract for your current system and run one full test export. That alone will show whether leaving is a few weeks of work or a bigger project.

DESAmedia helps companies plan and carry out data migrations, connect a new system to accounting and other tools through integrations and automation, and, where it makes sense, build a business management system whose code and data belong to you. If you want a second opinion on your exit plan before talking to your vendor, our IT consulting and system design team can help. Get in touch through our contact page.

Sources