Alphabet‘S Google formally filed a complaint US Federal Trade Commission saying on tuesday Microsoft used its dominant position in enterprise software to push customers toward its cloud services, The Information reported Wednesday.
Microsoft used the licensing terms in office 365 Productivity software to lock customers into separate contracts with it Blue Cloud server business, according to reports, Google’s complaint said.
The two US tech giants have an intense rivalry in the fast-growing, multi-billion dollar cloud computing business, where Google trails the market leaders. Amazon.Com and Microsoft.
The sector has recently come under greater regulatory scrutiny due to the dominance of a few players, including in the United States and the UK, and its increasingly important role as more and more companies move their services to the cloud.
In March, Google Cloud accused Microsoft of anti-competitive cloud computing practices and criticized impending deals with several European cloud vendors, saying they did not address wider concerns about its licensing terms.
Earlier this year, the FTC said it was seeking information from the public about the business practices of cloud computing companies, including details on their market power, competition and potential security issues.
Google and Microsoft did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while the FTC declined to comment.
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