Amazon (AMZN.O.) has informed the antitrust regulator in Britain that its competitor Microsoft (MSFT.O.) engages in business practices that limit consumer choice in the cloud computing sector. This is the second big corporation to criticize the operations of the United States technology giant.
Following a referral from the media regulator Ofcom that highlighted Amazon and Microsoft’s dominance of the market, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) of the United Kingdom initiated an inquiry into the cloud computing business in the country in October.
Amazon stated in a letter published on the CMA website on Tuesday that modifications to Microsoft’s terms of service had made it impossible for consumers to move to alternative cloud providers or operate the services of rivals alongside one another.
According to Amazon, a user must acquire a separate license to utilize many of Microsoft’s software products with these other cloud service providers. This is the case even if the customer already possesses the particular program. Because of this, it is frequently impossible for a consumer to select a supplier other than Microsoft, given their financial circumstances.
Reuters said that Google (GOOGL.O) had sent a letter to the watchdog similar to that of Microsoft. In the letter, Google claimed that Microsoft’s business practices had put its competitors at an unfair disadvantage.
The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) received six suggestions from Google. These proposals included mandating that Microsoft enhance interoperability for consumers who use its Azure service and other cloud services and prohibiting Microsoft from withholding security updates from customers who transfer.
In its report to the Competition and Markets Analysts, Microsoft stated that the cloud computing sector in the United Kingdom remained competitive.
When it comes to the cloud market in the UK, there are a lot of different sources of competition. It was said that Google, Oracle, IBM, and many other cloud providers are also investing billions of pounds in cloud infrastructure worldwide to meet demand. Additionally, they are vying fiercely for each client task in the locations where they operate.
