Alphabet’s Google has withdrawn its EU antitrust complaint over Microsoft’s cloud business, just a week after European regulators opened a probe into whether Microsoft should face stricter competition rules in the cloud market. Google had filed the complaint last year, alleging that Microsoft’s practices unfairly pushed customers to use its Azure platform.
In the global cloud market, Amazon remains the leader with a 30% share, followed by Microsoft at 20% and Google at 13%.
“We are withdrawing the complaint following the European Commission’s recent decision to examine concerns in the cloud sector under a different process,” Google Cloud Europe senior director Giorgia Abeltino wrote in a blog post.
She added that Google will continue working with regulators and industry stakeholders to promote greater openness and competition in cloud services.
The European Commission is currently assessing whether features of the cloud industry strengthen the dominance of Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services. The review, expected to conclude within a year, could result in both firms being designated as “gatekeepers” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act — a status that would impose strict obligations to ensure fair competition and more choices for customers.
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