- The Competition Commission of South Africa begins investigating Microsoft’s cloud computing licensing practices, according to Reuters.
- Microsoft is facing allegations of antitrust behaviour across multiple jurisdictions, which could have significant implications for the tech industry’s competition dynamics.
The Competition Commission of South Africa (CCSA), an antitrust agency is preparing to accuse Microsoft of its computing licensing practices.
Microsoft is expected to receive a formal complaint
Microsoft released an emailed statement to proclaim that it was unaware of any complaint from CCSA. While the Azure cloud business owned by the company is expected to be accused by CCSA of imposing exorbitant fees for businesses seeking to migrate their cloud license to alternative vendors. It is anticipated that it may set off a legal showdown soon and could lead to up to 10% of Microsoft’s revenue in the African country.
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Microsoft faces complaints from rivals
This case against Microsoft echoes the antitrust case of the European Union. The Cloud Infrastructure Services Provider in Europe (CISPE), a non-profit industry group with 27 member organizations, filed a complaint with the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition in late 2022, deeming that Microsoft’s new contractual terms added unfair practices. It asserted that the practices of Microsoft were harming Europe’s cloud computing ecosystem, and deprived customers of a choice in cloud deployment.
Microsoft ranks behind market leader Amazon in cloud computing but ahead of Alphabet’s Google. After rivals in Germany, Italy, Denmark, and France took their grievances to the EU competition watchdog, it amended its licensing terms in mid-2022.
