A PYMNTS Company

UK’s CMA Details Antitrust Investigation into Cloud Services Market

By  |  October 18, 2023

In response to concerns raised by Ofcom regarding the dominance of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft in the UK cloud services market, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has unveiled the initial focus of its antitrust investigation.

    Get the Full Story

    Complete the form to unlock this article and enjoy unlimited free access to all PYMNTS content — no additional logins required.

    yesSubscribe to our daily newsletter, PYMNTS Today.

    By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions.

    The CMA’s inquiry will center on specific areas identified in Ofcom’s year-long investigation, which potentially contribute to reduced competition among cloud service providers. They have called upon interested parties to provide feedback during a four-week consultation period, set to run until November 9, 2023. The insights gathered during this period will shape the course of the antitrust investigation, which is scheduled to conclude in April 2025.

    Read more: UK Probes Amazon & Microsoft Cloud Services

    The key areas under scrutiny include examining technical barriers that may hinder cloud users from switching providers or utilizing multicloud setups. Additionally, the CMA will investigate whether these obstacles result in users becoming locked into particular providers’ platforms.

    Ofcom’s report also highlighted concerns about egress fees imposed by certain cloud providers. These fees, charged to customers for transferring data out of the cloud, have been marked for further investigation by the CMA.

    Source: Computer Weekly