Microsoft’s cloud business targeted by EU antitrust regulators

Standard see of Microsoft Company headquarters at Issy-les-Moulineaux, close to Paris, France, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

BRUSSELS, April 1 (Reuters) – EU antitrust regulators are quizzing Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) rivals and customers about its cloud organization and licensing bargains, a questionnaire found by Reuters showed, in a shift that could guide to a official investigation and renewed scrutiny of the U.S. application firm.

The European Commission has fined Microsoft a overall 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) in the past decade for breaching EU antitrust guidelines and for not complying with its order to halt anti-competitive methods.

The enterprise identified itself on the EU competitors enforcer’s radar once again immediately after German program service provider NextCloud, France’s OVHcloud (OVH.PA) and two other firms submitted problems about Microsoft’s cloud methods.

“The Commission has facts that Microsoft may possibly be working with its most likely dominant place in specified software package marketplaces to foreclose opposition relating to sure cloud computing expert services,” the questionnaire claimed.

Regulators asked if the phrases in Microsoft’s licensing discounts with cloud services providers allow for rivals to compete properly.

They also want to know if businesses required Microsoft’s functioning systems and productivity applications to complement their own cloud infrastructure giving in get to contend correctly.

Providers also have been requested about the dissimilarities in license service fees and business terms concerning the licensing deals with cloud assistance vendors and another programme in which they offer and indirectly resell Microsoft’s cloud solutions together with their have.

A different concentrate was opportunity complex constraints on cloud storage solutions available on companies’ cloud infrastructure.

“We’re repeatedly analyzing how we can greatest guidance partners and make Microsoft software package available to prospects throughout all environments, which include those people of other cloud vendors,” Microsoft reported in an emailed statement.

EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager before this 7 days claimed she has no problems nonetheless about cloud computing and cited the competition from Europe’s Gaia-X initiative. examine additional

($1 = .9060 euros)

Producing by Foo Yun Chee Modifying by Monthly bill Berkrot

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Concepts.