A UK competition watchdog is investigating the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud computing market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The move comes after media<\/a><\/strong> regulator Ofcom raised concerns about the anti-competitive practices of these tech giants in the sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ofcom said this makes it challenging for UK businesses to switch cloud providers or use multiple services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read More: Amazon Allegedly Used Secret Algorithm To Raise Prices<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ofcom has referred the issue to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for further scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It cites some UK businesses’ difficulty in switching or combining services from different cloud providers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The watchdog is particularly worried about the market positions of Amazon and Microsoft.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re often called “hyperscalers” due to their substantial influence in the cloud computing<\/a><\/strong> market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure, the cloud computing divisions of Amazon and Microsoft dominate the UK’s cloud market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read More: FTC Sues Amazon Over Illegal Online Retail Monopoly<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Ofcom estimates, they\u2019re responsible for approximately 60 to 70 percent of cloud spending. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The CMA’s investigation coincides with the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence<\/a><\/strong>, which heavily relies on cloud services.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n These services enable tasks such as data storage, content delivery, and analytics to be performed over the internet rather than on local servers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CMA welcomes the referral from Ofcom and aims to ensure the maintenance of effective competition in the cloud computing market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read More: Microsoft Boss Testifies At Google Antitrust Trial<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n It recognizes the significance of cloud services in supporting various online activities, including social media and AI models.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The CMA’s independent inquiry group will assess the market and determine the requirement of any corrective actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The probe will conclude by April 2025, and the CMA has the authority to enforce changes in practices, block acquisitions, or divest parts of businesses if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon said Ofcom’s findings are \u201cbased on a fundamental misconception of how the IT sector functions, and the services and discounts on offer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Looking to boost your online brand? Create your FREE business profile at <\/strong>WhatBiz? here.<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Amazon says it designs its cloud services to offer customers flexibility in selecting the technology that best suits their needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ofcom’s concerns cover various practices within the cloud industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It includes “egress fees” cloud vendors charge for data transfer, technical barriers to interoperability, and committed spend discounts encouraging customers to stick with a single provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Need Career Advice? <\/strong>Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Microsoft is also facing scrutiny from the European Union regarding its cloud licensing terms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While not a formal investigation into Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform, the EU has been reviewing complaints about the company’s licensing terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s mainly with alleged unfair practices that may discourage customers from switching to other providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Follow us on <\/strong>YouTube<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Twitter<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>LinkedIn<\/strong><\/a>, and <\/strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A UK competition watchdog is investigating the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in the cloud computing market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":50848,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1065,2921,414],"tags":[57,562],"class_list":["post-50846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-business-news","category-microsoft-news","category-uk-business-news","tag-amazon","tag-microsoft"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50846","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=50846"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50846\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50848"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=50846"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=50846"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.whatjobs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=50846"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Probe to finish in April 2025<\/h2>\n\n\n\n