Amazon has recently criticized Microsoft’s business practices in the U.K. cloud market, following a competition investigation by the European Commission.
The comments, made in a statement to The Financial Times, come after the investigate probe concluded that Microsoft “abused its dominance in the U.K.’s cloud market” through “anti-competitive business practices.”
Amazon’s representative noted that the company’s “key concern is that Microsoft has recourse to its Windows operating system to to limit the access and use of its cloud services, deeming it a ‘tied product’ under the terms of the probe. This impedes competition and puts other providers at a disadvantage compared to Microsoft.”
Microsoft has been quick to clarify their stance, stating that a lack of consumer choice when it comes to OSs in the cloud market was not the intent of the company and that “Microsoft’s Windows and cloud offerings compete head to head with leading services from Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, Oracle, and IBM in cloud,” according to its UK VP for Legal & Corporate Affairs Harvey Falconer.
The investigation into anti-competitive practices by Microsoft is part of the greater debate surrounding large tech companies that have achieved a monopolistic grip on certain markets and industries, of which Microsoft is in a prime position. As a result, there has been a surge in investigations and increased scrutiny from the EU commission.
These antitrust actions could result in significant penalties for companies found to have engaged in anti-competitive behavior. Most notably, Google, which is awaiting a verdict from a similar investigation into its advertising practices.
For Amazon, the accusations from its statement are the latest move in its malicious feud with Microsoft. Amazon’s chief executive, Jeff Bezos, has recently led a fight against Microsoft’s growing power in the cloud computing market, which has seen both companies competing hard to be the dominant player.
This accusation is the latest move in a string of retaliatory behavior from Amazon which started when Microsoft announced its acquisition of GitHub back in 2018.
Regardless of the underlying motivations, however, Microsoft must now face the reality of an EU investigation into its cloud-business practices. Amazon’s statement adds to the already brewing growing sentiment of distrust and suspicion of the company’s business practices. While the results of the investigation remain to be seen, the implications and consequences of its outcome have the potential to be far reaching.