(1/2)Clouds and 3D printed figures are seen in front of the logo of the Microsoft Azure cloud service in this illustration taken February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration Acquire license rights
LONDON (Reuters) – British media regulator Ofcom will push for an antitrust investigation into Amazon this week. (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) dominance of the UK cloud computing market, according to two sources familiar with the matter.
Between them, Amazon and Microsoft enjoy a combined 60-70% market share of the British cloud computing industry. Meanwhile, its closest competitor, Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O)has closer to 10%.
Ofcom’s pressure for an antitrust investigation, first noted in Aprilwill remain in the agency’s final report on the matter, which will be released Thursday, one of the sources said.
The watchdog previously said it had considered referring the market to an investigation by the CMA, Britain’s competition regulator.
Ofcom warned that the current state of the UK cloud computing market made it difficult for some existing customers to negotiate a good deal with their provider.
Technical restrictions and discounts that encourage customers to continue using a single supplier for all their needs, even when better alternatives are available, could be considered anti-competitive, the body said in a report earlier this year.
“We are concerned that limitations on customers’ ability to use more than one provider could make it difficult for smaller cloud providers to win business and compete with market leaders,” it said.
Both Amazon and Microsoft previously said they would continue to work with Ofcom ahead of the publication of its final report.
In response to Ofcom’s earlier proposal, Microsoft submitted a 58-page response, stating that an investigation could ultimately harm consumers.
“It would be a particularly unfortunate outcome if UK businesses and public sector customers were faced with less vibrant and competitive cloud solutions on a global stage than those available to their rivals in the EU, US and China,” he said. .
Amazon and Microsoft did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “We will announce our decision whether or not to refer the market to the CMA before the legal deadline, which is Thursday 5 October.”
A CMA spokesman declined to comment.
Reporting by Martin Coulter and Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Matthew Scuffham and Susan Fenton
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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