Google and Microsoft’s cloud computing spat intensified on Wednesday as Google filed an antitrust complaint with the European Union, accusing its tech competitor of engaging in anticompetitive behavior.
Google claimed in a blog post that Microsoft’s licensing policies force commercial clients to use the Azure cloud computing platform.
It claimed that Microsoft is the sole cloud provider using these strategies, which limit competition, increase prices for companies, and increase their exposure to security concerns.
With its Google Cloud services, Google, which rivals Microsoft, said that it has officially complained to the European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-nation group and chief antitrust regulator.
Microsoft claimed that, “even after Google hoped they would keep litigating,” it had already reached a peaceful resolution to issues of a similar nature brought up by European cloud providers.
Following their agreement with Microsoft, the providers—who are members of the trade association Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe—announced in July that they were withdrawing their own complaint.
Microsoft released a prepared statement saying, “We expect Google similarly will fail to persuade the European Commission, having failed to persuade European companies.”
Laptops 1000According to a commission spokesman, the complaint has been received and will be evaluated “under our standard procedures.”
In 2019, Google claimed that Microsoft had modified its licensing rules to apply “severe financial penalties” to companies wishing to use Windows Server software on competitors’ platforms such as Amazon Web platforms and Google Cloud. Even so, switching providers is not hindered by any technological obstacles.
Google highlighted the increased security concerns associated with locking consumers into a single technology platform, citing a July global tech outage caused by a flawed software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike that caused flight disruptions and knocked out bank and hospital systems.
