(The Washington Publish) — Google stated Wednesday (September 25) it has filed an antitrust grievance towards Microsoft within the European Union, accusing Microsoft of utilizing its dominance in enterprise software program to lock shoppers into its Azure cloud companies.
The search large argues Microsoft is violating European competitors legal guidelines by charging punitive charges for its clients to switch initiatives working on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform to a competing cloud service. In a weblog submit, Google stated Microsoft’s ways are costing European companies at the very least 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) per 12 months and stifling competitors within the profitable cloud companies trade.
Google’s grievance, which may set off an inquiry by Europe’s competitors fee, is the most recent salvo in a long-running rivalry between two of the world’s largest tech companies. Over time, Google and Microsoft have every repeatedly accused the opposite of being a monopoly, with blended outcomes.
Google competes with Microsoft in a number of areas. Google’s search engine is much extra well-liked than Microsoft’s Bing, however Microsoft has a much bigger enterprise promoting cloud companies and enterprise software program reminiscent of Microsoft Phrase. Google has lengthy tried and didn’t catch as much as Amazon’s and Microsoft’s cloud companies, which usher in billions of {dollars} a 12 months for the businesses and are central to the push to roll out synthetic intelligence expertise. (Amazon founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Publish.)
In a press release, Microsoft stated it had amicably settled comparable issues raised by European cloud suppliers, referring to a deal struck this 12 months with an trade affiliation representing Amazon’s cloud enterprise and several other smaller gamers. The smaller firms withdrew their grievance in change for Microsoft agreeing to make its tech work extra seamlessly with these firms’ platforms. Amazon was not a part of the deal, and Google criticized the settlement in its weblog submit Wednesday.
Microsoft instructed Google was making an attempt to revive that earlier grievance. “Having failed to influence European firms, we count on Google equally will fail to influence the European Fee,” the assertion stated. The European Fee, which enforces E.U. legal guidelines, didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
In 2011, Microsoft filed a grievance with European regulators accusing Google of monopolizing internet search and promoting. Google first went public with its accusations towards Microsoft within the cloud sector with a letter to the US Federal Commerce Fee final 12 months.
Microsoft is already dealing with a separate antitrust investigation in Europe over its follow of bundling its chat and videoconferencing service, Groups, with its different well-liked enterprise merchandise. That inquiry stems from a 2020 grievance filed by Slack, owned by cloud enterprise software program supplier Salesforce.
Microsoft’s cloud practices are additionally beneath investigation by the UK’s Competitors and Markets Authority.
Google is dealing with a number of antitrust assaults in america. A federal decide dominated in August that Google has an unlawful monopoly in search. The corporate can be on trial defending a case introduced by the US authorities accusing it of utilizing anticompetitive practices within the promoting expertise market.
Cloud computing has develop into a key income and revenue for US tech giants, together with Microsoft, Google and Amazon. A growth in AI expertise is predicted to drive much more demand for these companies, with the businesses spending billions to broaden the information facilities that energy cloud platforms.
