Microsoft introduces changes to the Cloud Computing Service for Complaints to revise the license terms

Microsoft fined 1.6 billion euros (approx.

The company is taking the first but not the last step to address the concerns, Smith said at a conference organized by think-tank Bruegel in Brussels.

Microsoft wants to listen to and respond to the complaints, he said.

“It’s really starting to give European cloud providers more options. So if there’s a company that has a data center but wants to run solutions in their cloud PBX data center, we create more opportunities for that with our software because that’s what they’ve been asking for,” he said.

Smith said the changes include allowing cloud service providers to offer Windows as a full desktop operating system, offering longer-term price protection, and revising licensing terms.

The company came back on the radar of EU competition authorities after German software provider NextCloud, French OVHcloud and two other companies filed complaints about Microsoft’s cloud practices.

Back in April, EU antitrust authorities were questioning Microsoft’s competitors and customers about its cloud and licensing deals, a questionnaire seen by Reuters showed, in a move that could lead to a formal investigation and re-examination of the US software company.

The European Commission has fined Microsoft a total of €1.6 billion (approx.

The company came back on the radar of EU competition authorities after German software provider NextCloud, French OVHcloud and two other companies filed complaints about Microsoft’s cloud practices.

“The Commission has information that Microsoft could use its potentially dominant position in certain software markets to foreclose competition in certain cloud computing services,” the questionnaire reads.

Regulators questioned whether the terms in Microsoft’s license agreements with cloud service providers allow competitors to compete effectively.

They also want to know whether companies need Microsoft’s operating systems and productivity applications to complement their own cloud infrastructure offerings to compete effectively.

© Thomson Reuters 2022