Google is accusing Microsoft of anti-competitive licensing practices in cloud computing contracts in an antitrust complaint lodged with the European Commission, according to a press release on Wednesday (25 September).
Microsoft is trying to lock European customers into its Azure cloud platform, preventing them from moving work to competitor’s cloud services, Google said in its press release. It is the only cloud provider to use such tactics, Google said.
The accusations are similar to a complaint filed with the Commission in November 2022 by Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe (CISPE), a trade association that includes Amazon’s AWS and Italy’s Aruba. The complaint was resolved with a settlement in July, including remedies to be implemented within nine months.
“Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Euractiv, referencing the CISPE settlement.
“Instead of changing its practices, Microsoft has struck one-off deals with a small group of companies,” Google said in reference to the CISPE deal.
In its official statement in July, CISPE said that Microsoft would be reimbursing litigation and campaign fees as part of the agreement.
Google reportedly offered CISPE €470 million to derail the settlement.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed having received the complaint in an email to Euractiv, adding that they will review it according to standard procedures.
Google itself is the target of several antitrust cases in the EU.
Google’s complaint against its rival is an attempt to “give voice” to what the company has heard from customers and across the industry, its press release said.
“Certain companies still require EU users to buy a separate, duplicate licence for the same piece of software if they decide to move to a cloud provider of their choice” which “prevents European businesses from harnessing the power of cloud computing,” industry association CCIA Europe’s Senior Vice President & Head of Office, Daniel Friedlaender, told Euractiv in an email.
The complaint brings fresh attention to the lack of competition in the EU cloud market, in which three companies, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, hold 72% of the market, a spokesperson from France’s largest cloud provider told Euractiv, calling for a renewed antitrust push in the industry.
[Edited by Owen Morgan]