Ofcom has called for an antitrust probe of the UK cloud market amid concerns over Microsoft and Amazon’s dominance in the space.
Microsoft and Amazon are set to face a formal investigation into their dominance of the UK cloud market following a probe by Ofcom.
The media regulator has referred the public cloud infrastructure services market to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after its probe identified “features that make it more difficult for UK businesses to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers”.
Ofcom’s decision means that major cloud providers will face a thorough investigation to establish if their market share has a detrimental effect on competition.
“Our market study has identified features that make it more difficult for UK businesses to switch and use multiple cloud suppliers. We are particularly concerned about the position of the market leaders Amazon and Microsoft,” Ofcom said in a statement today.
“The CMA will now conduct an independent investigation to decide whether there is an adverse effect on competition, and if so, whether it should take action or recommend others to take action.”
Ofcom specifically highlighted the market share of Microsoft and Amazon as a key concern following its investigation. Combined, the two ‘hyperscalers’ command a market share of 70-80%, Ofcom said.
Google Cloud, the third of the major hyperscalers, holds a market share of between 5-10%.
