Microsoft’s cloud business targeted by EU antitrust regulators
By Paresh Dave
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators are quizzing Microsoft’s rivals and clients about its cloud small business and licensing specials, a questionnaire noticed by Reuters confirmed, in a shift that could direct to a formal investigation and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. computer software enterprise.
The European Commission has fined Microsoft a overall 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the past 10 years for breaching EU antitrust procedures and for not complying with its buy to halt anti-aggressive practices.
The enterprise found itself on the EU competition enforcer’s radar once more right after German program company NextCloud, France’s OVHcloud and two other businesses filed issues about Microsoft’s cloud tactics.
“The Commission has information and facts that Microsoft might be making use of its possibly dominant position in certain software package markets to foreclose opposition concerning certain cloud computing companies,” the questionnaire explained.
Regulators questioned if the phrases in Microsoft’s licensing discounts with cloud assistance companies allow rivals to compete efficiently.
They also want to know if corporations required Microsoft’s operating programs and productivity programs to complement their individual cloud infrastructure presenting in buy to contend properly.
Firms also ended up questioned about the dissimilarities in license charges and commercial terms concerning the licensing discounts with cloud services suppliers and another programme in which they offer and indirectly resell Microsoft’s cloud providers together with their individual.
An additional emphasis was potential technical limitations on cloud storage solutions available on companies’ cloud infrastructure.
“We’re consistently evaluating how we can greatest help companions and make Microsoft software program readily available to clients throughout all environments, which include people of other cloud vendors,” Microsoft claimed in an emailed assertion.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager previously this week explained she has no fears but about cloud computing and cited the competition from Europe’s Gaia-X initiative.
($1 = .9060 euros)
(Crafting by Foo Yun Chee Modifying by Bill Berkrot)
