Google wants UK regulator to take action against Microsoft, here’s why – Times of India

Google has written to Britain’s antitrust regulator to take action against Microsoft, claiming that the Windows maker’s business practices in Cloud computing have left the rival companies at a significant disadvantage.
In a letter submitted to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), Google alleged that Microsoft’s licensing practices unfairly discouraged customers from using competitor services, even as a secondary provider alongside Azure.
“With Microsoft’s licensing restrictions in particular, UK customers are left with no economically reasonable alternative but to use Azure as their cloud services provider, even if they prefer the prices, quality, security, innovations, and features of rivals,” Google said in the letter, seen by news agency Reuters.
Google claimed that this practice not only directly harmed customers but also is a barrier to competition in Britain’s cloud computing market.
Microsoft, Amazon under lens
Microsoft, along with Amazon have faced scrutiny over their dominance of the cloud computing industry. The CMA and the regulators in the European Union as well as in the US are probing their market power.
In October this year, the CMA launched an investigation into the matter after media regulator Ofcom highlighted Amazon and Microsoft’s dominance of the market.
According to Ofcom, in 2022, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft’s Azure had a combined 70-80% share in the country’s cloud infrastructure market, followed by Google’s cloud division at around 5-10%.
What Microsoft has to say
Last year, Microsoft updated its licensing rules to address concerns and promote competition. A Microsoft spokesperson said the company worked with independent cloud providers to address concerns and over 100 providers took advantage of the changes.
“As the latest independent data shows, competition between cloud hyperscalers remains healthy. In the second quarter of 2023 Microsoft and Google made equally small gains on AWS, which continues to remain the global market leader by a significant margin,” a Microsoft spokesperson was quoted as saying.
Meanwhile, Google has made six recommendations to the CMA, including forcing Microsoft to improve interoperability for customers using Azure and alongside other cloud services, the report said.