Microsoft announced on Wednesday that it has settled CISPE’s antitrust complaint regarding its cloud computing licensing policies for a multi-million-euro sum, avoiding an EU antitrust investigation and a hefty fine
In late 2022, CISPE, which comprises Amazon and numerous minor EU cloud providers, submitted a complaint to the European Commission, contending that Microsoft’s new contractual terms, which were implemented on Oct. 1, were detrimental to the cloud computing ecosystem in Europe.
Microsoft is ranked behind Amazon, the market leader in the cloud computing sector, but it is ahead of Alphabet’s Google.
“After working with CISPE and its European members for more than a year, I am pleased that we’ve not only resolved their concerns of the past but also worked together to define a path forward that brings even more competition to the cloud computing market in Europe and beyond,”
Brad Smith, president of Microsoft
According to CISPE, Microsoft will create a product that will enable its members to operate Microsoft software on their platforms on the Azure cloud infrastructure of the U.S. tech giant at prices that are comparable to Microsoft’s.
The group also announced that Microsoft will reimburse CISPE members for the revenue they have lost due to their licensing costs in the past two years.
The settlement does not include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform, and AliCloud. CISPE declared that it would discontinue its EU complaint and would not initiate or provide support for complaints regarding these matters in Europe or elsewhere.
