A South African antitrust agency is reportedly gearing up to investigate Microsoft’s cloud computing licensing practices. This move comes hot on the heels of Microsoft’s recent global decision to unbundle Microsoft Teams from its Office 365 suite following pressure from the EU Commission over anti-competitive concerns.
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According to sources familiar with the matter, the case bears striking similarities to the ongoing antitrust scrutiny Microsoft faces in the European Union. However, in a surprising turn of events, Microsoft responded to inquiries via email, stating its unawareness of any filed case against it by the South African-based agency.
While details surrounding the South African investigation remain scarce, Microsoft has a history of grappling with accusations from rivals in the cloud computing sphere. In 2022, trade group CISPE lodged complaints with the EU watchdog, alleging that Microsoft’s contractual terms and purported “unfair practices” were detrimentally affecting the cloud computing landscape in Europe.
The crux of CISPE’s grievances centered on Microsoft’s alleged leveraging of its dominance in productivity software to stifle choice and inflate costs for European customers transitioning to cloud services, thereby distorting Europe’s digital economy.
Moreover, both Amazon and Microsoft currently face scrutiny from the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority for allegedly constraining competition in the cloud computing market through their dominant “hyper-scale” services. This dominance, which accounts for a significant portion of total cloud expenditure according to Ofcom’s report, reportedly hampers UK-based businesses’ ability to switch providers or leverage multiple cloud services.
Google also chimed in on the matter, urging the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority to address what it perceives as Microsoft’s anti-competitive behavior in cloud computing.
As Microsoft finds itself embroiled in yet another antitrust saga, the global tech landscape eagerly awaits the outcome of the South African investigation and its potential implications for the cloud computing industry at large.
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