Brad Smith, the president of the American giant, announces concessions in Brussels on his software and accommodation services, in response to a complaint for abuse of a dominant position
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“We received the message,” launched the president of Microsoft, Brad Smith, Wednesday May 18, in Brussels, where the American company is targeted by a complaint for abuse of dominant position. “Some of the concerns of European cloud actors are justified,” admitted the manager. The French company OVH, author of the request to the European Commission, criticizes the group for granting, for its market office leader software, Office 365, more expensive and restrictive licenses to hosts who, like it, does not do not resell Microsoft’s cloud services.
Microsoft has therefore announced concessions: “We change the terms of our licenses so that European cloud suppliers can operate our software on their servers roughly as we do,” said Mr. Smith , while recognizing that certain details – and even other possible measures – should be specified, with the actors of the ecosystem. European cloud companies will also have access to “a dedicated assistance team,” added Mr. Smith. These changes are intended to be extended to the whole world.
“We did not pay attention to the smallest players in the sector, pleaded Microsoft’s public affairs specialist. A leader told me to have the feeling of being a collateral victim of our fight with Amazon. “The world number two of the Cloud (20 %) would have focused on the leader Amazon (33 %) and on Google,” up “(10 %), while European companies, they retreated (21 %to 16 % in four years). The argument joins that of the French OVH or Whaller. For them, Microsoft uses the office position of Office 365 (Word, Excel, Powpoint, Outlook, Teams …) or Windows to strengthen in accommodation and “Cloud” services.
What does OVH think about accommodation? “Microsoft recognizes the merits of our complaint and we consider it regrettable that we should go to the mobilization of the authorities to secure the conditions of a market where competition is both free and healthy, reacts the French company . We are now waiting to see the concrete conditions of exercise of these resolutions and remain determined to defend a fair playground for the European Cloud ecosystem. “
” open to discussion “
intended to appease the European Commission, compromise will not necessarily prevent it from opening an investigation. A fine in repair of past offenses is possible. More generally, Mr. Smith, veteran of the legal battle between the Bill Gates and Brussels firm at the turn of the 2000s, assured that Microsoft, now, “supports regulation”. At the time, the sanction pronounced against the company for having favored its explorer browser in Windows sounded as a “death stop”, but “that forced us to improve ourselves,” he said.
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