Microsoft cloud computing

[ad_1] Amazon is the driving force behind a trio of advocacy groups working to thwart Microsoft's growing ambition to become a major cloud computing contractor for governments, a Bloomberg analysis shows. The groups — the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing and the Alliance for Digital Innovation — want to convince policymakers that Microsoft has improperly locked customers into Azure, its cloud computing service, choking off its rivals and hindering the advancement of technology within the government and beyond. These groups have dozens of members. But Amazon is the biggest funder for two of them and the largest company, measured by revenue, that funds another. Spokespeople for the groups say no single company determine...

[ad_1] Concerns from regulators about the dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in Britain's cloud computing market have triggered an investigation into the competitiveness of the key industry. The U.K. communications regulator Ofcom said Thursday that its yearlong study of the cloud communications services market found features that could limit competition. British businesses face barriers when they try to switch or use multiple cloud suppliers, it said. Cloud computing uses data centers around the world to store photos and emails or run software. It has become a vital service for many businesses, which turn to cloud providers to avoid the cost of buying expensive equipment and real estate to run their own data centers. Ofcom asked the U.K. antitrust watchdog, the Competition and Markets...