Microsoft denies any wrongdoing or market manipulation.
“Microsoft provides choice and flexibility for our customers to switch to another cloud provider at no cost, and our licensing terms enable our customers and other cloud providers to run and offer Microsoft software on every cloud,” a Microsoft spokesperson told Computerworld. ”We will engage with the Spanish Start Up Association to learn more about its concerns.”
Cumulus
The Spanish complaint adds to a growing volume of similar complaints against Microsoft across Europe.
Last year CISPE (Cloud Infrastructure Service Providers in Europe), which represents European cloud infrastructure providers, filed a complaint against Microsoft with the European Commission.
CISPE’s complaint alleged that anti-competitive practices such as discriminatory packaging, linking, and pricing are among the technical and economic barriers that make it difficult for customers to freely choose between cloud service providers.
Francisco Mingorance, secretary general of CISPE, told Computerworld that “not only the target, but also the practices [targeted in the Spanish complaint]present some overlap with our pending EU-level complaint.”