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Google Cloud files complaint due to Microsoft's anti-competitive licensing

Google Cloud has filed a complaint with the European Commission regarding Microsoft’s anti-competitive licensing practices, which restrict customer choice, stifle innovation, and harm European businesses.

Not only have they cost European businesses at least €1 billion a year, but also they have led to adverse downstream effects, including waste of tax funds, stifled competition, restrictions on distributors and channel partners, and heightened risk for organizations exposed to Microsoft’s “inadequate” security culture. One of the most significant restrictions occurred in 2019, when Microsoft adopted new licensing terms that imposed extreme financial penalties on businesses wanting to use Windows Server software on Azure’s closest competitors, such as Google Cloud and AWS. According to research from Professor Frédéric Jenny, a French economist and chairman of the OECD Competition Committee, EU customers face significant hidden costs due to Microsoft’s restrictive licensing that go well beyond inflated pricing.

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