Microsoft (MSFT.O) has reached a 20-million-euro ($21.7 million) settlement to resolve an antitrust complaint regarding its cloud computing licensing practices, preempting an EU investigation and potential fines.
The complaint, filed by Cloud services organization CISPE in late 2022, alleged that Microsoft’s contractual terms imposed on October 1 were detrimental to Europe’s cloud computing ecosystem. While Microsoft trails market leader Amazon (AMZN.O) in the multibillion-dollar cloud computing sector and leads Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O) Google, the industry faces antitrust scrutiny in both the EU and the U.S.
“I am pleased that we’ve not only addressed their concerns but also collaborated on ways to enhance competition in the European and global cloud computing markets,” stated Microsoft President Brad Smith after more than a year of negotiations with CISPE and its European members.
Under the terms, Microsoft will develop a product allowing CISPE members to run Microsoft software on their platforms using Azure cloud infrastructure at prices equivalent to Microsoft’s own. Additionally, Microsoft will compensate CISPE members for lost revenues related to licensing costs over the past two years, although specific financial details were not disclosed.
Despite the settlement with CISPE, criticisms from AWS and Google Cloud Platform suggest ongoing concerns about Microsoft’s competitive practices in the cloud market.
