It looked like the rivalry between these two tech giants had calmed down, but new legal issues have resurfaced. Google has filed an antitrust complaint with EU regulators, accusing Microsoft of unfair practices in its cloud service licensing.
As reported by CNBC, Google, which is currently third in the cloud market behind Microsoft and Amazon, claims that Microsoft imposes licensing terms that make it more difficult and costly to run Windows Server and Office products on non-Azure cloud platforms.
Google Cloud attacks Azure to try to gain market share.
Amit Zavery, Google Cloud’s vice president, claims that Microsoft forces customers to pay a 400% surcharge to keep using Windows Server on non-Azure cloud platforms. This fee doesn’t apply when using Microsoft’s own Azure service. This complaint follows Microsoft’s recent settlement with an industry group representing European cloud infrastructure providers who had raised similar concerns about Microsoft’s licensing policies.
This group, called Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), agreed to withdraw its 2022 complaint after reaching a deal that allows European cloud providers to offer Microsoft applications on local infrastructures. Notably, Google was not part of this agreement.
CISPE is also setting up a European Cloud Observatory (ECO), including Microsoft, European cloud providers, and customer associations. In July, Amazon Web Services criticized this deal, arguing that Microsoft only made “limited concessions” to certain CISPE members, showing no real technical hurdles to offering fair terms to all cloud users.
Microsoft, meanwhile, is unhappy with Google’s new complaint. According to Microsoft spokesperson Robin Koch, the company views the allegations as unwarranted.
Microsoft amicably resolved similar concerns raised by European cloud providers, even after Google expected them to litigate further. Having failed to persuade European companies, we expect Google to also fail to persuade the European Commission..
