Ontrack VS SOS Data Recovery: what do the documents say?
Ontrack is one of the world's largest data recovery brands. SOS Data Recovery is a Swiss laboratory. This comparison does not judge skills: it documents, with sources to back it up, who you contract with, where your media are processed and which law applies. The informed choice is yours.
The essentials in three points
The documents, side by side
Facts recorded in August 2026 (websites, general terms and conditions, commercial register and SOGC publications; references in the methodology note). YES = documented · CLAIMED = asserted by the provider · NOT DOCUMENTED · NO = explicit source to the contrary.
| Criterion | Ontrack (KLDiscovery) | SOS Data Recovery |
|---|---|---|
| Entity and contracting party | Registered Swiss limited liability company (Zefix, CHE-109.545.973); shares held by two US companies of the group (SOGC). The terms consulted designate KLDiscovery Ontrack GmbH, Böblingen (DE), as the contractual service provider (clause 1.1). | Tesweb SA (CHE-112.898.136), a stock corporation entered in the Swiss commercial register (Zefix); the contract is concluded with this Swiss entity. |
| Laboratory in Switzerland | CLAIMED: laboratory in Wallisellen ("Labor und Reinraum Klasse 100", i.e. class 100 laboratory and cleanroom, website); the site also lists several partner drop-off points in various Swiss cities. | YES: laboratory open to visitors in Switzerland; media opened under ISO 5 certified laminar flow, laboratory presented in detail on our dedicated page; visits by appointment. |
| Contractual commitment to 100 % processing in Switzerland | NO: the terms consulted expressly provide for processing and access outside Switzerland: services performed "überwiegend" (predominantly) in the Swiss laboratory, possible access from any Ontrack facility, including in the United States and the United Kingdom (clause 1.5), and possible remote access from outside the European Economic Area (clause 6.4). | YES: written contractual commitment; the media and the data remain in Switzerland at every step (GTC, Art. 3.1 "Place of Processing and Data Location", August 2026 version). |
| Smartphones/tablets processed entirely in Switzerland | NO: the terms provide that the device may be sent to a sister company within the European Economic Area and that mobile phone recovery is carried out in an Ontrack expert laboratory (clause 6.4); the German version states: "Mobiltelefone und Tablets senden wir üblicherweise in unser Schwesterlabor nach Polen" (mobile phones and tablets are usually sent to the sister laboratory in Poland; "Diagnose" section, let. f). | YES: contractual commitment to processing in Switzerland (GTC, art. 3.1), as for all other media. |
| Applicable law and place of jurisdiction | GTC: German law and German courts for business customers; for consumers, Swiss law with a German place of jurisdiction, subject to mandatory rules (clauses 18.4 and 18.5). | GTC: Swiss law exclusively; place of jurisdiction in the canton of Bern. |
| Ownership structure | Swiss limited liability company whose shares are held by KLDiscovery Ontrack, LLC (49 of 50 shares) and Ontrack Data Recovery, LLC (1 of 50 shares), two US companies (SOGC). | Tesweb SA, an independent Swiss stock corporation; no foreign group holds any stake in its capital. |
| Initial assessment before you decide | First assessment announced as free of charge, provided "innerhalb weniger Stunden" (within a few hours) according to the Swiss website; the terms provide for a paid diagnosis for certain media or types of damage, notably smartphones and tablets. | Free, no-obligation initial analysis in under 3 hours from receipt: nature of the failure, recovery chances and exact cost of the intervention, communicated in writing before any decision. |
| Service levels | Website: Emergency (24/7), Express and Standard. The service terms also provide for an Economy level (around 20 working days); Express: 3 to 5 working days according to the terms. | Analysis in under 3 hours; recovery from 24 hours depending on the complexity of the failure; 24/7 emergency service for critical cases. |
| Service languages | de, fr, it (Swiss versions of the website); service in English: not documented on the pages consulted. | fr, de, en, it. |
Three differences to understand before choosing
1. The contracting party: a German entity of a US group, or a Swiss SA
Ontrack has a Swiss limited liability company in Wallisellen, entered in the commercial register. The data recovery terms and conditions consulted on 17.08.2026, however, designate "KLDiscovery Ontrack GmbH", with its indicated registered office in Böblingen, Germany, as the contractual service provider (clause 1.1). The Swiss commercial register also shows that the shares of the Swiss company are held by two US companies of the KLDiscovery group.
At SOS Data Recovery, the contract is concluded with Tesweb SA, a stock corporation entered in the Swiss commercial register. The entity you can verify on zefix.ch is the one that commits to you.
2. The place of processing: "predominantly" in Switzerland, or entirely in Switzerland
Ontrack's terms as consulted provide that services are performed "überwiegend" (predominantly) in its Swiss laboratory, that any Ontrack facility, including in the United States and the United Kingdom, may access the data where necessary (clause 1.5), and that for phones and tablets the German version states: "Mobiltelefone und Tablets senden wir üblicherweise in unser Schwesterlabor nach Polen" (usually sent to the sister laboratory in Poland; "Diagnose" section, let. f).
SOS Data Recovery commits in its general terms and conditions (art. 3.1) to processing carried out entirely in Switzerland: the media, the working copies and the recovered data remain in Switzerland at every step, including for smartphones.
3. The contractual framework and access from abroad
Ontrack's Swiss terms consulted on 17.08.2026 provide for a contract with the German entity KLDiscovery Ontrack GmbH. For business customers, they provide for German law and the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts of Germany (clause 18.4); for consumers, Swiss law applies but the stipulated place of jurisdiction remains German, subject to mandatory rules (clause 18.5).
The same terms and the data processing agreement provide that certain group entities located abroad, including in the United States, may take part in the processing or access the data under the conditions set out in those documents (clause 1.5 and the annex to the data processing agreement).
At SOS Data Recovery, the contract is concluded with Tesweb SA, a Swiss company; the applicable law is exclusively Swiss law, the place of jurisdiction is in the canton of Bern (GTC), and the processing commitment provides that the media and the data remain in Switzerland.
When Ontrack can be a relevant choice
This comparison documents differences in structure and contractual framework, not in skill. Ontrack is a historic player in data recovery, with a 24/7 emergency offering and extended services (e-discovery, digital forensics, certified erasure). Ontrack has an international presence and an offering suited to organisations looking for a provider present in several countries, when no requirement imposes exclusively Swiss processing.
Conversely, if your data are subject to professional secrecy, banking secrecy, localisation requirements or an internal "data in Switzerland" policy, the documents cited above give you the precise questions to ask before shipping: who is my contracting party, where will my media be processed, who can access the data, and before which court can I bring a claim.
Methodology note. The findings on this page rely exclusively on public sources consulted in August 2026: Ontrack's general terms and conditions for data recovery (Swiss German and French versions; no Swiss English version exists, so quotes are given in the original German; the French version states "Date de prise d'effet : le 1 Decembre 2023"), pages of the ontrack.com website (de-ch, fr-ch, it-ch), central commercial register (zefix.ch) and SOGC publications. Each finding is dated; the captures and exact references are kept. The provider may change its documents: this page is re-checked periodically (last check: August 2026).
Do you represent Ontrack or KLDiscovery?
If you believe any information on this page is inaccurate or no longer up to date, write to us at info@sos-data-recovery.ch (subject: "Correction request") with the exact quote you dispute, the documented element that contradicts it and your contact details. We acknowledge receipt within 2 working days; where an error is objectively verifiable, we correct it without delay; in other cases, we reply on the substance within 10 working days at the latest.