Microsoft faces cloud antitrust charges after OVHcloud files suit
The French cloud computing firm OVHcloud has filed an antitrust complaint against Microsoft in the EU alleging that its software doesn’t work as well on other cloud services.
As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the complaint was filed with the European Commission last summer though it hasn’t been reported on up until now.
OVHcloud argues in its complaint that the way in which Microsoft licenses its office software and other products may make it more expensive for businesses to use cloud services besides Microsoft Azure. However, the company also alleges that it is harder for other cloud services to compete with Microsoft as its software doesn’t work as well when used on their platforms.
A spokesperson for OVHcloud provided further details on its complaint against Microsoft in a statement to The Wall Street Journal in which they explained that “Microsoft undermines fair competition and limits consumer choice in the cloud computing services market” by abusing its dominant position.
Cloud antitrust complaint
OVHcloud didn’t act on its own as the company said that it jointly filed its complaint with several companies though it declined to names which ones.
For its part, Microsoft did not confirm or deny whether it was notified of OVHcloud’s complaint but it did say that other European cloud companies are building successful businesses using its products.
Although the cloud market in Europe continues to grow, a great deal of that growth is attributed to US cloud giants Microsoft Azure, AWS and Google Cloud. In fact, they now account for more than a third (69%) of the European cloud market according to Synergy Research Group. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom is the largest European cloud provider with a two percent share of the region’s market followed by OVHcloud with a one percent share.
We’ll have to wait and see if the European Commission plans to investigate OVHcloud’s complaint further or dismiss it. As the complaint was reportedly filed last summer though, EU regulators could come to a decision soon.
