The competition watchdog has published the provisioning findings from its long-Running Investigation INTO The Inner Workings of the UK Cloud Infrasture Services Market, Which Shows that Competition in the SCTORCING Ell as it could be. For this reason, Kip Meek, Chair of the CM's Independent Inquiry Group, said it is advising the regulator to “Consider investigating the largest cloud services providers using new digital markets”.
This is beCAuse its Findings Sugged End-Ruser Organizations BE Paying More Than They Need for Cloud Services, And are Possibly at risk of being into using in locomps “Evolving.
In a seven-page report, Detailing the provisional findings of its investment, the lack of competition in the cloud market could mean mean uk customers are collectively paying Hinds of Millions of Millions More Eervices.
It went on to state that uk cloud users can be locked into “Initial choice of provider” due to technical and commercial barriers ht has better-priced or a more innovative portfolio of Services.
“We have provisionally found that AWS and Microsoft have been generating sustained returns from their cloud services substantially above their cost of capital in cloud services for a number of years,” the report said. “Customers say that cloud services offer bot quality and innovation to them. However, we consider that a more competitive market would have sustained best
Controversial licensing practices
The report also called out Microsoft's Controversial Licensing Practiceswhich typical See it charging customers more for running its software in its competitors' cloud, as impacting on the competitive position of aws and also google by “Partially by”.
As well as being in-space of the CMA Probe, Microsoft's Behavior on This Front is also the subject of a european commission complant, Filed by Google in September 2024,
,[The licensing piece] Exacerbates the harm we have provisional found arising from high market concentration and barriers to entry and expansion in relationship to Microsoft's Significant Unilateral Market Power, ”The report added.
To Remedy the Situation, The Report Sugges The CMA Board Use Powers Conferred on It Through the Roll-Out of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consures Act 2024 (DMCACA) t out as suppliers with “strategic Market Status ”.
This would mean the cMAld impose legally Binding Conduct Requirements or Pro-Competition Interventions on Both Firms to Limit and Remedy the toll their activities have allegedly Hadedly Had
As deetailed in the report, such powers are “specifically designed to be effected in digital markets… that share a combination of characteristics that can cause them to 'tip' tip 'tip' tip ' to take a ” Targeted and its item “approach to tackling the behavior of such provides.
“We consider that measures aimed at aws and microsoft guide market-wide concerns by directly benefiting the Majority of uk customers and producing Other Providers, “The Report Stated.
Before any action can be taken by the CMA, a consultation on the provisional findings of its investigation needs to take place, with cloud market stakeholders now invited to share their feedback on the conclusions raised so far. The Final Report from the CMA's Investigation is due to Drop by 4 August 2025.
In the meantime, Aws has responded to the cma's provisional findings by describing its proposed intervention under the terms of the DMCCA as “Not Warranted”, and Urged It to Think About The Long About of Such .
“We Urge the CMA to carefully consider how regulatory intervention in other area ares will strike innovation and Ultimately harm customers in the uk,” a speakesperson for Aws Said. “We will continue to work constructively with the CM as they work on their final report.”
Rima Alaly, Corporate Vice-PRESIDENT and Deputy General Counsel in the Competition Law Group at Microsoft, Seemed to Sugged in a statement to computers weekly that containers of the CMA REPORT ADEPORT ADEPORT ADEPORTENG
“The draft report should be focused on paving the way for the uk's ai-power, not fixed on Legacy products launched in the last century,” She said. “The Cloud Computing Market Has Never Been So Dynamic and Competitive, Attracting Billions in Investments, New Entrants and Rapid Innovation. What could be better for Uk Businesses and Government? “
Meanwhile, Chris Lindsay, Vice-Prescent of Customer Engineering For Europe, The Middle East and Africa at Google Cloud, Said the Company was pleased to see the impact Customers feature in the CMA's provisional findings.
“Restrictive Licensing Harms Uk Cloud Customers, Threatens Economic Growth and Stifles Innovation, and we are encouraged that the CM has recognized the harm of these practices,” He said.