Microsoft’s cloud business targeted by EU antitrust regulators

Basic perspective of Microsoft Company headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the vicinity of Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Image

BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators are quizzing Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) rivals and customers about its cloud business and licensing promotions, a questionnaire noticed by Reuters confirmed, in a move that could direct to a formal investigation and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. application enterprise.

The European Fee has fined Microsoft a whole 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the prior ten years for breaching EU antitrust guidelines and for not complying with its purchase to halt anti-competitive techniques.

The company located alone on the EU levels of competition enforcer’s radar once more immediately after German application company NextCloud, France’s OVHcloud (OVH.PA) and two other companies filed complaints about Microsoft’s cloud procedures.

“The Commission has facts that Microsoft might be using its most likely dominant place in particular software package markets to foreclose competitiveness concerning selected cloud computing services,” the questionnaire claimed.

Regulators requested if the conditions in Microsoft’s licensing promotions with cloud company vendors let rivals to contend proficiently.

They also want to know if firms wanted Microsoft’s running techniques and efficiency programs to complement their very own cloud infrastructure providing in purchase to compete effectively.

Firms also ended up requested about the variations in license costs and professional conditions among the licensing promotions with cloud company companies and a different programme in which they deal and indirectly resell Microsoft’s cloud solutions together with their have.

One more concentrate was possible technical limits on cloud storage products and services accessible on companies’ cloud infrastructure.

“We’re repeatedly assessing how we can very best aid companions and make Microsoft computer software readily available to buyers throughout all environments, which include these of other cloud vendors,” Microsoft claimed in an emailed assertion.

EU antitrust main Margrethe Vestager before this 7 days stated she has no issues nonetheless about cloud computing and cited the level of competition from Europe’s Gaia-X initiative. go through more

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Producing by Foo Yun Chee Editing by Bill Berkrot

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