Microsoft Faces Significant Criticism from Competitors Google and Amazon for ‘Forcing Users to Use Azure’
According to Google and Amazon, Microsoft is forcing its customers to Azure by charging high license prices for Windows and SQL Server software on competing cloud platforms.
Migrate to Azure or Pay a Multiple
The criticism stems from Microsoft’s adjustment of its cloud licensing policy in 2019. Since then, customers have had to purchase separate licenses to run Windows and SQL Server environments on Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google Cloud Platform (GCP), or Alibaba — three parties that Microsoft labels as “listed providers.” These licenses are more expensive than on Azure itself.
According to Google, this can cost up to four times more for the exact same software on GCP than on Azure. Many companies have no alternative, as their infrastructure has often been running on Microsoft software for years. Google and AWS describe this as a “critical part of the cloud market.”
Switching to Linux Often Unfeasible
Although Microsoft says that companies can switch to Linux, both Google and AWS counter with the observation that this rarely succeeds in practice. Rewriting applications takes years of time and many resources. For companies with a high dependency on Microsoft, the switch is simply not economically feasible.
The British competition authority is investigating whether Microsoft is causing unfair competition in the cloud with this practice. In a preliminary ruling, it already indicated that Microsoft’s practices may be harmful. The final decision will follow on July 4, and could lead to mandatory interventions.