On October 5, the British media regulator, Ofcom, made a request for the UK antitrust authority to investigate the dominant positions of U.S. tech giants Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O) in the UK's cloud market. Ofcom's study identified factors that create challenges for UK businesses in using multiple cloud providers.
Ofcom stated, "The CMA (Competition and Markets Authority) will now carry out an independent investigation to determine if there is a detrimental impact on competition. If so, it will consider taking action or making recommendations for others to do so."
Ofcom, which began investigating cloud services last year, expressed concerns about the practices of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft due to their market dominance in April. They planned to request an antitrust investigation.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that the regulator was expected to push for this inquiry. UK businesses raised concerns to Ofcom about difficulties in switching or using multiple cloud providers.
"We are directing the market to the CMA for a more thorough evaluation, ensuring that business clients can still enjoy the advantages of cloud services," stated Fergal Farragher, the Director overseeing Ofcom's Market Study.
The CMA expressed approval of this decision, highlighting that many businesses now heavily depend on cloud services, emphasizing the importance of robust competition in the £7.5 billion ($9.11 billion) market.
According to Ofcom's findings, AWS and Microsoft collectively held a 70% to 80% share of the UK's public cloud infrastructure services market in 2022.
