Google Cloud Platform has lodged its first-ever antitrust criticism in opposition to Microsoft with the European Fee, alleging unfair cloud computing practices that stifle competitors and enhance prices for patrons.
Filed on Tuesday, the criticism accuses Microsoft of exploiting its dominance in desktop working techniques to lock prospects into its Azure cloud companies.Google claims this technique reduces selection and inflates costs within the cloud computing market.
“We imagine this regulatory motion is the one approach to finish Microsoft vendor lock-in and for patrons to have a selection and create a degree enjoying subject for rivals,” mentioned Amit Zavery, Vice President and head of Google Cloud Platform.
On the coronary heart of the dispute are Microsoft’s software program licensing insurance policies, which Google alleges are anti-competitive. In response to Zavery, prospects face a 400% markup when operating Home windows Server on non-Azure clouds in comparison with Azure deployments.
“Microsoft’s technique is straightforward. It leverages a software program monopoly to lock prospects into Azure,” Zavery acknowledged. He emphasised the urgency of the state of affairs, noting that many workloads are nonetheless on-premises and poised to maneuver to the cloud.
The criticism attracts on analysis suggesting European companies and public sector organisations pay as much as €1 billion yearly to run Microsoft software program in non-Azure cloud environments.
Microsoft defended its place, with president Brad Smith stating that the corporate’s earlier deal “resolved previous considerations and introduced much more competitors to the sector.”
A Microsoft spokesperson added: “Microsoft settled amicably comparable considerations raised by European cloud suppliers, even after Google hoped they’d maintain litigating. Having failed to steer European corporations, we anticipate Google equally will fail to steer the European Fee.”
The European Fee confirmed receipt of the criticism, stating it might “assess beneath our commonplace procedures.”
This authorized transfer comes as Google trails behind Microsoft and Amazon Net Companies within the international cloud computing market. It follows an analogous criticism filed by AWS-backed commerce group CISPE in 2022, which was resolved earlier this yr by way of a confidential settlement.
