A senior Google executive has heavily criticized Microsoft for the way the company is handling its ongoing antitrust case, claiming the latter seemingly hopes to brush any dispute under the carpet with a new settlement between it and the three companies that initially raised the challenge.
As recently reported, Microsoft is close to reaching a settlement with France’s OVHcloud, Italy’s Aruba SpA, and the Danish Cloud Community, all of which have declined to comment on the matter so far, which will see the antitrust case suspended.
Google, which trails behind Microsoft in terms of cloud market share, has slammed Microsoft’s efforts, in turn, urging the European Commission to more carefully consider the case.
Google on Microsoft’s antitrust case
Google VP, Amit Zavery, told Reuters (opens in new tab) that the imminent deals do little to solve the root cause, and that the concerns around the company’s licensing terms remain unanswered.
Microsoft’s President and VP Brad Smith had responded to the criticsm last year, noting, “As a major technology provider, we recognize our responsibility to support a healthy competitive environment and the role that trusted local providers play in meeting customers’ technology needs.”
Smith also promised to amend the unfair licensing terms, which came into play in October 2022, however in reality the changes have done very little to facilitate healthy competition. Microsoft was accused of making it difficult, and often expensive, to switch cloud service providers.
Market leader Amazon is yet to make a public comment about the ongoing case, however Google’s end of radio silence may spur the ecommerce and cloud giant on to share its thoughts.
Google’s Zavery said: “When we talk to a lot of our customers, they find a lot of these bundling practices, as well as the way they create pricing and licensing restrictions, make it difficult for them to choose other providers,” referring to Microsoft’s use of Microsoft 365, Windows, and Azure, which it ties together in a close ecosystem.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to TechRadar Pro’s request for further comment.
