Google Complains To EU Over Microsoft Cloud Practices (reuters.com)
- Reference: 0175131713
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/09/25/1729220/google-complains-to-eu-over-microsoft-cloud-practices
- Source link: https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-files-complaint-eu-over-microsoft-cloud-practices-2024-09-25/
> Google, whose biggest cloud computing rivals are Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, said Microsoft was exploiting its dominant Windows Server operating system to prevent competition. Google Cloud Vice President Amit Zavery told a briefing that Microsoft made customers pay a 400% mark-up to keep running Windows Server on rival cloud computing operators. This did not apply if they used Azure. Users of rival cloud systems would also get later and more limited security updates, Zavery said.
>
> Google pointed to a 2023 study by cloud services organization CISPE which found that European businesses and public sector bodies were paying up to 1 billion euros ($1.12 billion) per year on Microsoft licensing penalties. Microsoft in July clinched a 20-million-euro deal to settle an antitrust complaint about its cloud computing licensing practices with CISPE, averting an EU investigation. However, the settlement did not include Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and AliCloud, prompting criticism from the first two companies.
[1] https://www.reuters.com/technology/google-files-complaint-eu-over-microsoft-cloud-practices-2024-09-25/
Yet another reason..... (Score:2)
Yet ANOTHER reason to switch to Linux...
Re: Yet another reason..... (Score:1)
This has literally nothing to do with the OS on your device, it is about cloud devices. Why are you here if you can't even read?
Re: (Score:3)
hes not a nerd, hes a geek
the geeks have always been here, adding their geek noise, joining teams
Re: (Score:2)
> This has literally nothing to do with the OS on your device, it is about cloud devices. Why are you here if you can't even read?
Err...from what I read...the suit alleges that if you run a server with Windows in Azure, and want to move OUT of Azure...MS will give you less support for the OS and charge you more to run windows (license, etc) on servers on another cloud server.
That seems OS related to me...those servers in the cloud "do" generally run some form of an OS, eh?
Re: Yet another reason..... (Score:3)
You choose what OS the servers you lease are running, and pay the appropriate license.
What it sounds like here is that if you want to use Windows server on AWS, you pay a licensing fee much higher than if you use Azure.
This is basically like Comcast giving away access to Peacock for free if you subscribe to Xfinity, but charge you $12/month if you arenâ(TM)t.
Vertical integration. I donâ(TM)t think this is illegal, if Google wanted to compete, they need to focus on providing a way to move off of wi
Re: (Score:2)
> I don't think this is illegal
You think wrongly. The only reason all these complaints get handled in the EU is that US anti-trust law is crap.
Yeah ok, "Eric" (Score:1)
> Google, whose biggest cloud computing rivals are Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, said Microsoft was exploiting its dominant Windows Server operating system to prevent competition
LOL! A [1]monopolist [slashdot.org] complaining about another monopolist's actions? You can't make that shit up!
[1] https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/09/22/1949223/internal-google-emails-presented-at-antitrust-trial
Re: (Score:3)
Perhaps. But the complaint is also easy to believe.
This is going to be hard to win... (Score:2)
This is going to be a hard case to win. Take Active Directory. Yes, it is the only directory system that scales large enough to handle billions of objects and millions of people, but there are other directory services out there like FreeIPA, OpenLDAP, eDirectory (formerly Novell Directory Services). Yes, MS is the biggest, and in a lot of cases, the only game in town, but they can argue that due to the others, they are not a monopoly.
Similar with Windows servers. MS can point to Linux and say that there
Re: (Score:2)
I don't believe that's the issue at hand. This is an EU case and I'm in the US and laws are different. But, in general, one cannot use a monopoly in one area (desktop operating systems) as a means of trying to acquire a monopoly in another area (cloud computing services.) MSFT has essentially come up with a pricing model where Windows users are presented with pricing such that Windows licenses for running Windows in Azure are less than the same Windows license for running Windows in GCP. Since it's the
Re: (Score:2)
Things are pretty clear. Microsoft has no leg to stand on.
Google got outcompeted and lost the cloud war... (Score:2)
Google was outcompeted and lost the cloud war. Like the VHS vs Beta it's not about which cloud is technically superior. Enterprises all lined up behind MSFT for multiple reasons but the big obvious ones were: 1. Existing estate is with microsoft, so reasonable expectation best cloud support for those tech platforms comes from same company as your cloud. 2. Most enterprises already had many licenses agreements with MSFT so they knew how to do deals. 3. Google didn't do themselves any favors by changing
Re: Google got outcompeted and lost the cloud war. (Score:1)
Because you would like an alternative when the price raises to much⦠You better have at least one exit strategy when you put important workloads into a public cloud.
As always (Score:2)
Privatize the profits and socialize the losses.
MS vs Google (Score:2)
Embrace, Extend, Extinguish
vs
Announce, Alpha, Abandon
Everyone could file competition complaints (Score:2)
All companies / affected parties [1]are entitled to file antitrust complaints in Europe [europa.eu]. In particularly when you have a case.
It is nothing special, it is just not as often done as would be possible
Bundling for instance is illegal for a monopolist.
[1] https://competition-policy.ec.europa.eu/antitrust-and-cartels/procedures/complaints_en
1 monopolist complains about another. (Score:2)
Sure! THEIR lock in SUUUUCKS!
But OUR lock-in is pretty fucking awesome!
BUY OUR CRAP!