Paresh David

BRUSSELS/Reuters – EU antitrust regulators quiz Microsoft (NASDAQ) about cloud business and licensing deals. A questionnaire seen by Reuters revealed that this move could be a precursor to a formal investigation.

Microsoft was fined by the European Commission for violating EU antitrust laws and not following its orders to stop anti-competitive practice.

Following complaints from two companies, NextCloud (German software provider) and OVHcloud (France), the EU competition enforcers placed NextCloud on their radar.

According to the questionnaire, “The Commission is aware that Microsoft might be using its dominant position in some software markets to foreclose competition with certain cloud computing service providers.”

Regulators wanted to know if Microsoft’s cloud-service provider licensing agreements allow for rivals to be effective.

It is also important to find out if Microsoft’s productivity and operating systems are needed by companies to enhance their cloud infrastructure offerings in order to be competitive.

Also, companies were asked to explain the difference in licensing fees and terms between cloud service provider license agreements and another program that allows them to package and indirect resell Microsoft’s cloud-based services with their own.

A second focus was on technical limitations in cloud storage services that are available to companies through their cloud infrastructure.

Microsoft stated in an email that it is constantly evaluating ways to best assist partners and make Microsoft software accessible to customers in all environments. This includes other cloud providers.

Margrethe Vestager, EU Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager stated earlier in the week that she does not have any concerns about cloud computing. She also cited competition from Europe’s GaiaX initiative.

($1 = 0.9060 euros)