Google files case against Microsoft in EU: Here’s why

ISLAMABAD: Google announced on Wednesday that it has filed a complaint with the European Commission against Microsoft, accusing its rival of “anti-competitive” licensing practices to force users to use its cloud service. methods are used.

“We believe this regulatory action is the only way to end Microsoft vendor lock-in and create choice for consumers and a level playing field for competitors,” Google Cloud vice president Amit Zavery said at a news conference.

Google said Microsoft exploited business users’ reliance on “essential” software products such as Windows Server to force them to use its Azure cloud platform.

Microsoft has made Windows Server or other products cost-prohibitive for consumers by marking up 400 percent over rival services, such as Google Cloud or Amazon’s AWS, Google has charged.

“Microsoft’s licensing terms prevent European customers from moving their existing Microsoft workloads to competitors’ clouds — despite having no technical barriers to doing so,” said Tara Brady, president of Google Cloud’s Europe region. said in a blog signed by the collaboration.

For businesses that use competing cloud platforms despite the cost, “Microsoft has introduced additional barriers over the past few years, such as limiting security patches and creating other interoperability barriers,” Google said.