Latest news with #WindowsServer
Time of India
6 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud harming competition, UK says
The dominant position of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud computing is harming competition, with their impact exacerbated by technical and commercial barriers to switching, an inquiry group from Britain's antitrust regulator said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) group said on Thursday the regulator should investigate whether to designate the two with strategic market status (SMS) in cloud services, which would give it new powers to intervene. It noted, however, that the CMA has said it will not consider new SMS investigations, which are conducted by its Digital Markets Unit (DMU), until early next year. Microsoft was singled out in its final report for licensing practices that the panel said adversely impacted Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google. The group said in January that Microsoft was using its dominance in enterprise software, such as Windows Server and Microsoft 365, to limit competition by charging licensing fees when its services were used on rival platforms. Microsoft and AWS have 30-40% market shares in cloud services such as processing, storage and networking, it said. Google is the third main provider, but it has a smaller share of 5-10%. "Measures aimed at Microsoft and AWS would address market-wide concerns," the CMA group said. The cloud computing industry has been scrutinised by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, Microsoft clinched a 20-million-euro deal last year to settle a complaint about its licensing practices, averting an antitrust investigation and potential hefty fine. The company said the CMA group's report "misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes". "Its recommendations fail to cover Google, one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants," a spokesperson said. Amazon said "clear evidence of robust competition" had been disregarded. "The action proposed by the Inquiry Group is unwarranted and undermines the substantial investment and innovation that have already benefited hundreds of thousands of UK businesses," a spokesperson said. But it noted the group had recognised that action needed to be taken over Microsoft's licensing practices. Google said the conclusive finding that restrictive licensing harmed customers and competition was a "watershed moment". "Swift action from the DMU is essential to ensure British businesses pay a fair price and to unleash choice, innovation and economic growth in the UK," said Chris Lindsay, Google Cloud's vice president for customer engineering EMEA. The Open Cloud Coalition and the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing said the CMA should take action quickly. "Given the alarming anticompetitive behaviour it has identified, the current plan to start this process in early 2026 is nowhere near sufficient," said Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the Open Cloud Coalition.
Business Insider
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
Storms Ahead for MSFT and AMZN as U.K. Regulator Cracks Down on Cloud Dominance
U.S. tech giants Microsoft (MSFT) and Amazon (AMZN) have been blasted by U.K. regulators for dominating the cloud services market. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) declared today that both companies held 'significant unilateral market power' in the sector. Locked-In As a result, the CMA is worried that this is creating a 'lock-in' effect where businesses are trapped into unfavorable contractual agreements. In short, they are unable, due to technical and commercial barriers, to switch cloud provider and find better offers or more innovative new services. The CMA said it will investigate whether to designate the two with strategic market status (SMS) in cloud services, which would give it new powers to intervene. Microsoft was singled out in the report for licensing practices that the panel said adversely impacted Amazon Web Services and Alphabet-owned Google (GOOGL). The inquiry group said in January that Microsoft was using its dominance in enterprise software, such as Windows Server and Microsoft 365, to limit competition by charging licensing fees when its services were used on rival platforms. As can be seen below, cloud revenue is a key part of Microsoft's overall business. Microsoft and AWS has a 30 to 40% share of the IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service) market. Google is the third main cloud services provider, but it has a much smaller share. However, both Microsoft and Amazon came out fighting. Fighting Talk Microsoft said the report 'misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes.' 'Its recommendations fail to cover Google, one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants,' it said. Amazon said: 'The action proposed by the Inquiry Group is unwarranted and undermines the substantial investment and innovation that have already benefited hundreds of thousands of UK businesses. It risks making the UK a global outlier at a time when businesses need regulatory predictability for the UK to maintain international competitiveness.' But Google said the conclusive finding that restrictive licensing harmed cloud customers and competition was a 'watershed moment'. Earlier this month, the CMA said it planned to designate Alphabet's Google and Apple (AAPL) with strategic market status for their dominant role in mobile ecosystems. This is another example of enhanced regulatory crackdown on U.S. tech in the U.K. and Europe. However, it has done little to stop the growth in either Microsoft or Amazon's share price.
The Hindu
7 days ago
- Business
- The Hindu
Dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud harming competition, UK says
The dominant position of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud computing is harming competition, with their impact exacerbated by technical and commercial barriers to switching, an inquiry group from Britain's antitrust regulator said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) group said on Thursday the regulator should investigate whether to designate the two with strategic market status (SMS) in cloud services, which would give it new powers to intervene. It noted, however, that the CMA has said it will not consider new SMS investigations, which are conducted by its Digital Markets Unit (DMU), until early next year. Microsoft was singled out in its final report for licensing practices that the panel said adversely impacted Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google. The group said in January that Microsoft was using its dominance in enterprise software, such as Windows Server and Microsoft 365, to limit competition by charging licensing fees when its services were used on rival platforms. Microsoft and AWS have 30-40% market shares in cloud services such as processing, storage and networking, it said. Google is the third main provider, but it has a smaller share of 5-10%. "Measures aimed at Microsoft and AWS would address market-wide concerns," the CMA group said. The cloud computing industry has been scrutinised by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, Microsoft clinched a 20-million-euro deal last year to settle a complaint about its licensing practices, averting an antitrust investigation and potential hefty fine. The company said the CMA group's report "misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes". "Its recommendations fail to cover Google, one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants," a spokesperson said. Amazon said "clear evidence of robust competition" had been disregarded. "The action proposed by the Inquiry Group is unwarranted and undermines the substantial investment and innovation that have already benefited hundreds of thousands of UK businesses," a spokesperson said. But it noted the group had recognised that action needed to be taken over Microsoft's licensing practices. Google said the conclusive finding that restrictive licensing harmed customers and competition was a "watershed moment". "Swift action from the DMU is essential to ensure British businesses pay a fair price and to unleash choice, innovation and economic growth in the UK," said Chris Lindsay, Google Cloud's vice president for customer engineering EMEA. The Open Cloud Coalition and the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing said the CMA should take action quickly. "Given the alarming anticompetitive behaviour it has identified, the current plan to start this process in early 2026 is nowhere near sufficient," said Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the Open Cloud Coalition.
The Star
7 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Dominance of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud harming competition, UK says
FILE PHOTO: Figurines with computers and smartphones are seen in front of Microsoft Corporation logo in this illustration taken, February 19, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo LONDON (Reuters) -The dominant position of Amazon and Microsoft in cloud computing is harming competition, with their impact exacerbated by technical and commercial barriers to switching, an inquiry group from Britain's antitrust regulator said. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) group said on Thursday the regulator should investigate whether to designate the two with strategic market status (SMS) in cloud services, which would give it new powers to intervene. It noted, however, that the CMA has said it will not consider new SMS investigations, which are conducted by its Digital Markets Unit (DMU), until early next year. Microsoft was singled out in its final report for licensing practices that the panel said adversely impacted Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google. The group said in January that Microsoft was using its dominance in enterprise software, such as Windows Server and Microsoft 365, to limit competition by charging licensing fees when its services were used on rival platforms. Microsoft and AWS have 30-40% market shares in cloud services such as processing, storage and networking, it said. Google is the third main provider, but it has a smaller share of 5-10%. "Measures aimed at Microsoft and AWS would address market-wide concerns," the CMA group said. The cloud computing industry has been scrutinised by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic. In Europe, Microsoft clinched a 20-million-euro deal last year to settle a complaint about its licensing practices, averting an antitrust investigation and potential hefty fine. The company said the CMA group's report "misses the mark again, ignoring that the cloud market has never been so dynamic and competitive, with record investment, and rapid, AI-driven changes". "Its recommendations fail to cover Google, one of the fastest-growing cloud market participants," a spokesperson said. Amazon said "clear evidence of robust competition" had been disregarded. "The action proposed by the Inquiry Group is unwarranted and undermines the substantial investment and innovation that have already benefited hundreds of thousands of UK businesses," a spokesperson said. But it noted the group had recognised that action needed to be taken over Microsoft's licensing practices. Google said the conclusive finding that restrictive licensing harmed customers and competition was a "watershed moment". "Swift action from the DMU is essential to ensure British businesses pay a fair price and to unleash choice, innovation and economic growth in the UK," said Chris Lindsay, Google Cloud's vice president for customer engineering EMEA. The Open Cloud Coalition and the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing said the CMA should take action quickly. "Given the alarming anticompetitive behaviour it has identified, the current plan to start this process in early 2026 is nowhere near sufficient," said Nicky Stewart, senior advisor to the Open Cloud Coalition. (Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young and Elaine Hardcastle)
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Penguin Solutions Launches Next-Gen Stratus ztC Endurance for Ultra-High Availability, AI Workloads
Penguin Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:PENG) is one of the cheap IT stocks hedge funds are buying. On June 17, Penguin Solutions announced the second generation of its award-winning Stratus ztC Endurance platform, its flagship fault-tolerant computing platform designed to deliver seven nines (99.99999%) availability. This new family of platforms ensures the uptime of critical applications and data while consolidating workloads within a highly reliable, manageable, and serviceable IT footprint for IT teams. The new generation expands its operating system support to include Linux (RHEL 9.4), in addition to bare metal or virtualized versions of Windows Server and VMware vSphere. A woman and man in formal attire in a meeting room discussing the latest enterprise solutions technology from the company. This combination of high-end performance and Linux support makes the platforms well-suited for industries such as financial services, retail, and manufacturing. Furthermore, the processing power of the Stratus ztC Endurance 9110 and 7110 platforms positions them well for AI inferencing workloads at the edge, delivering the high throughput and low latency required for applications like AI image classification. Penguin Solutions Inc. (NASDAQ:PENG) designs and develops enterprise solutions worldwide. While we acknowledge the potential of PENG as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
