Amazon says Microsoft’s licensing rules make it “financially unviable” for customers to switch from Azure. | Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Amazon has joined Google in criticizing Microsoft over licensing agreements that restrict competition in the UK’s cloud computing market, claiming Microsoft’s business practices make it harder for customers to switch to alternative cloud providers or run competing services alongside Azure. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating the UK’s cloud computing industry which Amazon and Microsoft dominate.
Amazon laid out its concerns in a letter dated November 23rd, 2023 but published by the CMA yesterday:
“Some IT providers, such as Microsoft, use licensing practices that restrict customer choice and make switching more difficult. For example, Microsoft changed its licensing terms in 2019 and again in 2022 to…