EU antitrust regulators set their sights on Microsofts cloud business

Date:
Mon, 04 Apr 2022 20:30:35 +0000

Description:
Antitrust regulators have sent out a survey to Microsofts customers and
rivals in the EU to learn more about its cloud business.

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Antitrust regulators in the EU have begun questioning both customers and rivals of Microsoft regarding its cloud business and licensing deals.

According to a questionnaire seen by Reuters , the software giant is facing scrutiny in the EU over how its licensing deals with cloud service providers make it difficult for its rivals to compete.

Over the previous decade, the European Commission has fined Microsoft a total of $1.8bn for breaking EU antitrust rules and failing to comply with its
order to halt all anti-competitive practices.

This latest round of inquiries into the company is a direct result of complaints filed against Microsoft regarding its cloud practices by Frances OVHcloud , German software maker NextCloud and two other companies. Stifling cloud competition

The questionnaire being given to Microsofts customers and rivals by EU antitrust regulators lays out the European Commissions latest grievances with the company, saying:

"The Commission has information that Microsoft may be using its potentially dominant position in certain software markets to foreclose competition regarding certain cloud computing services."

The regulators asked respondents if the terms in the companys licensing deals with cloud service providers allow rivals to effectively compete in the
space. However, they also asked if companies need Microsofts operating system and productivity applications to complement their own cloud infrastructure offering in order to compete effectively according to Reuters . Read more

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Companies were then asked about the differences in license fees and
commercial terms when it comes to the licensing deals the software giant
makes with cloud service providers and its program where businesses resell Microsoft 365 and its other cloud services together with their own.

EU antitrust regulators are also concerned about potential technical limitations on cloud storage services available on the cloud infrastructure
of Microsofts customers and rivals.

Well likely hear more from the European Commission once its survey on Microsoft is complete and at that time, we will have a better idea as to whether or not the EU plans to proceed with bringing antitrust charges
against the company. Host your website in the cloud with the best cloud hosting

Via Reuters



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/eu-antitrust-regulators-set-their-sights-on-mic rosofts-cloud-business/


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