Amazon, one of the world’s biggest technology companies, has slammed Microsoft’s business practices in the UK cloud market in light of an ongoing probe by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The CMA launched an investigation in 2019 to see if Microsoft was enhancing its market power in the cloud market in the UK by implementing anti-competitive measures. Amazon was one of the companies that recently submitted comments as part of the CMA’s probe.
In its comments, Amazon accused Microsoft of using its dominant market position to “leverage its control over end users and artificially inflate prices.” Amazon went on to accuse Microsoft of using its position of power to “block access to essential information,” making it increasingly difficult for smaller cloud providers to compete. Amazon said this lack of information makes it nearly impossible for Amazon and similar companies to compete on price.
Microsoft, on the other hand, disagreed with the accusations, saying in a statement that it “has always played by the rules in both the U.K. and Europe, and has always offered strong competition to Amazon and other cloud providers.”
The CMA is expected to continue its investigations for several months before making a ruling. In the meantime, the cloud market in the UK is becoming increasingly competitive as more companies enter the fray. Amazon and Microsoft are both vying for market share and it is up to the CMA to determine if Microsoft’s practices are unfairly disadvantaging other players.
It remains to be seen if Amazon’s comments will be taken into consideration by the CMA. However, one thing is clear – this probe signals an escalation of the battle for control over the cloud market in the UK.