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UK Watchdog Eyes Investigation Into Microsoft and AWS Over Cloud Market Power

By  |  July 31, 2025

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is preparing to escalate its scrutiny of American tech giants Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) by pushing for a formal investigation into their dominant roles in the UK cloud computing sector. The recommendation follows findings from a detailed market probe that identified significant concerns about competition.

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    According to Euractiv, the CMA inquiry group has advised designating Microsoft and AWS with “strategic market status” (SMS), a legal designation in the UK that would give regulators stronger powers to curb anti-competitive behavior. This designation, akin to the EU’s “gatekeeper” status under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), is reserved for companies with “substantial or entrenched market power.”

    Per Euractiv, the push by UK regulators comes amid growing frustration in the EU over its own limited progress in reining in the cloud computing sector. Despite their scale, neither Microsoft, AWS, nor Google Cloud were named gatekeepers under the DMA—an omission that has provoked criticism from some European lawmakers and industry groups.

    The CMA’s findings reveal that Microsoft and AWS collectively command a substantial share of the UK’s cloud services market. Specifically, the authority estimates each company holds between 30% and 40% of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) segment. In the Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) category, Microsoft reportedly holds 20% to 30%, while AWS accounts for 10% to 20%. Google Cloud, by contrast, was not recommended for tighter regulation due to its smaller footprint—between 5% and 10% market share.

    Read more: Opera Files Antitrust Complaint Against Microsoft in Brazil Over Browser Practices

    The potential for stricter oversight has not gone unnoticed by the companies involved. An AWS spokesperson told Euractiv that the CMA’s report “disregards clear evidence of robust competition in the UK’s IT services industry.” Microsoft echoed these concerns, criticizing the regulator for excluding Google, which it described as “one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants.”

    While no immediate actions have been taken, the CMA board is now weighing whether to proceed with a formal “designation investigation.” If approved, this move would mark a significant step toward giving UK regulators expanded tools to impose market remedies and intervene in the practices of Microsoft and AWS.

    Source: Euractiv