Amazon Web Services and Microsoft have made it easier to switch cloud providers but still have more to do, the UK competition watchdog said on Friday.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) also proposed bringing Microsoft under its toughest digital rules.
The update is the CMA’s first progress check since March, when it accepted voluntary commitments from the two companies instead of opening a formal investigation into the cloud market. At the time, it said it would look at progress again after six months.
Since then, both companies have connected their data centres directly to their rivals’, starting with Google. They have also dropped fees for customers who move their data to another provider.
On top of that, both now let customers and rivals request better links between services and offer AI tools that help with a move.
Next, the CMA wants both firms to make it easier to manage user logins and access across different clouds. It also wants systems that can move between providers without extra hurdles.
The regulator plans another update in spring 2027. It has not ruled out a full cloud investigation under its new powers.
Meanwhile, Microsoft faces closer scrutiny on a separate front. The CMA has proposed giving it strategic market status in business software, following an investigation opened in May.
That would make it the third company, after Google and Apple, to fall under Britain’s new digital markets regime.
The CMA’s proposal covers Windows, Office, security tools, server software, and databases. Early on, the CMA wants to examine how Microsoft licenses its software to rival cloud providers. It will also check whether customers can freely pick AI tools other than Copilot.
“Organisations should be able to choose the products that work best for them,” said Sarah Cardell, the CMA’s chief executive.
Microsoft, for its part, said it does not share the CMA’s view and that all of its products, including Copilot, are open and interoperable, according to Reuters. It also welcomed the CMA’s finding that its cloud position does not warrant a designation.
AWS, meanwhile, welcomed the update. It said it had kept investing in AI and in tools that work across clouds this year.
The CMA will now take views on the proposal and expects to make a final decision by February 2027.