CMA to launch strategic market standing investigation into Microsoft; Amazon Net Providers off the hook

The Competitors and Markets Authority (CMA) has introduced it can launch a strategic market standing (SMS) investigation into Microsoft’s enterprise software program ecosystem in Could 2026 to deal with considerations in regards to the firm’s licensing placing restrictions on competitors within the cloud.

On the identical time, the CMA introduced that following engagement with Amazon Net Providers (AWS) and Microsoft, the 2 firms have agreed to make modifications to cloud egress charges and product interoperability. 

Microsoft and AWS had been the topic of the CMA’s “cloud providers market investigation”, which began final July and will have seen each firms designated with SMS.

The SMS designation investigation will final 9 months. It’ll goal considerations that Microsoft makes use of its dominant place in software program (like Home windows Server and SQL Server) to restrict competitors within the cloud market by making it costlier or troublesome to host these merchandise on rival platforms comparable to AWS or Google Cloud.

In the meantime, AWS and Microsoft have agreed to take steps to take away or cut back egress charges –  the price of transferring knowledge out of a cloud supplier – and enhance multi-cloud interoperability, with modifications carried out by contract updates. The CMA board will overview progress on these “in six months”. 

Microsoft and AWS have about 40% of the UK cloud market every, whereas Google Cloud comes a way behind with 10%.

The CMA acknowledged that whereas they’re holding all gamers below overview, the particular points concerning software program licensing leverage had been distinctive to Microsoft’s place, and that was why it was the one one topic to potential SMS designation.

The CMA believes a serious driver to behave now could be the speedy emergence of generative synthetic intelligence (GenAI) and agentic AI instruments. It says the market is at the moment open, however dangers turning into closed if Microsoft’s ecosystem doesn’t enable for seamless interoperability with third-party AI innovators.

Virtually concurrently with the CMA publicising its resolution, AWS introduced “a brand new UK addendum” that goals to formalise a dedication to buyer selection round multi-cloud adoption, knowledge portability and switching processes.

Not lengthy after that, Microsoft revealed a weblog submit wherein it set out its commitments to implementing modifications set out by the CMA, and detailed measures taken within the areas of multi-cloud interoperability and knowledge egress charges.

The CMA resolution was broadly welcomed, however with reservations over simply how a lot “chunk” the measures would have, and considerations that outcomes can be rigorously monitored.