Draft EU guidelines to curb the facility of Amazon, Apple, Alphabet unit Google, and Fb also needs to deal with suppliers of cloud computing providers for doable anti-competitive practices, a examine stated on Tuesday. The report comes amid considerations that some EU lawmakers who’re reviewing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) proposed by EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager could also be lenient in direction of cloud computing corporations.
Amazon’s Amazon Internet Providers was the main supplier within the second quarter, adopted by Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud, market analysis firm Statista discovered. Others embody IBM Cloud, Alibaba Cloud, Salesforce, and Oracle.
Frederic Jenny, chairman of the Organisation for Financial Cooperation and Growth’s Competitors Committee, put collectively the examine, in his private capability, for commerce physique Cloud Infrastructure Providers Suppliers in Europe (CISPE).
The brand new EU guidelines also needs to cowl software program licensing, the report stated, with respondents citing unfair phrases imposed by a few of the huge software program corporations to entry their cloud infrastructure.
“The DMA does say that cloud infrastructure can come throughout the ambit of the DMA however it’s not apparent that every one the suppliers are coated,” Jenny advised Reuters in an interview.
“For instance, it does not appear that Google Cloud qualifies underneath the DMA as a gatekeeper or IBM Cloud or Salesforce.”
Potential anti-competitive practices by some corporations might embody unfair pricing methods or efforts to make customers’ transfer to a rival technically tough, he stated.
Jenny stated the examine interviewed some 25 corporations that use cloud computing providers, a few of which cited points reminiscent of unfair licence phrases that pressure prospects to pay once more to make use of software program they already personal after they transfer to a competitor.
Respondents have been additionally involved about suppliers bundling software program merchandise with their cloud infrastructure to make rival merchandise both much less engaging or dearer.
Google, Oracle and SAP declined to remark. Microsoft and Amazon didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
EU lawmakers need to thrash out the draft DMA with EU international locations earlier than it turns into regulation, probably in 2023.
© Thomson Reuters 2021
