Reports of Google's muscular attempt to thwart a Microsoft antitrust settlement in the European Union underscores the fierce rivalry between these tech giants and the ongoing regulatory and competitive challenges in the cloud services market.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Google tried to disrupt the settlement by offering a $500 million alternative deal to the Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE), the group that lodged the antitrust complaint against Microsoft.
The Bloomberg report reveals that Google's offer came “just days” before CISPE settled with Microsoft. The proposal included a package worth nearly $500 million, which comprised more than five years of software licenses and approximately $15 million in cash. It would have served Google well had CISPE maintained its EU antitrust complaint against rival Microsoft.
CISPE's Allegations and Settlement
CISPE filed its complaint in 2022, alleging that Microsoft's practices were “irreparably damaging the European cloud ecosystem and depriving European customers of choice in their cloud deployments” by increasing costs to run Microsoft's software on rival cloud services. In February, CISPE stated that any resolution must apply across the sector, and be accessible to all cloud customers in Europe. They agreed any agreements would be public.
The settlement CISPE reached with Microsoft last week was not without controversy. As described by Reuters, CISPE said Microsoft will develop a product allowing CISPE's members to run Microsoft software on their platforms on the U.S. tech giant's Azure cloud infrastructure with prices equivalent to Microsoft's prices. Microsoft will also compensate CISPE members for lost revenues related to their licensing costs over the last two years. However, the deal excluded major rivals, including Amazon, which is a CISPE member, and Google, which is not. Despite CISPE's promise of transparency, the group merely published a blog post indicating only the central features that purportedly resolved its concerns over Microsoft's allegedly anticompetitive behaviors.
This post relied on information published by Bloomberg and Reuters.
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