Microsoft signed a truce today with cloud providers that sees them get paid to drop a complaint to European Union antitrust regulators.
Cloud association CISPE, which is backed by Microsoft’s cloud rival Amazon, said it agreed the settlement deal on Wednesday afternoon.
This effectively ends a two-year row over Microsoft’s licensing practices that cloud companies argue have locked in customers of Microsoft’s ubiquitous office software.
“CISPE has given Microsoft the benefit of the doubt and believes that this agreement will provide a level playing field for European cloud infrastructure service providers and their customers,” said CISPE’s Francisco Mingorance.
The group agreed to withdraw a complaint to the European Commission that it filed in November 2022 which asked regulators to investigate Microsoft for breaching competition rules. It will also pledge not to make or support similar complaints in the EU or elsewhere.
In return, Microsoft will make changes to some of its software licensing practices within nine months. It will also pay a lump sum to CISPE and reimburse its litigation and campaign costs.
Amazon “will neither benefit from nor be bound by these terms,” CISPE said.
A spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said the settlement only sees Microsoft making limited concessions.
“Unfortunately, this settlement does nothing for the vast majority of Microsoft customers who are unable to use the cloud of their choice in Europe and around the world,” the person said. The company continues to stand with others “who are calling on Microsoft to end its discriminatory practices for all customers.”
POLITICO first reported in June on talks on a potential multimillion-euro settlement in the making, with payments to both CISPE and its members as well as a gag order preventing companies from filing additional complaints.
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in a statement that he was “pleased that we’ve not only resolved their concerns of the past, but also worked together to define a path forward that brings even more competition to the cloud computing market in Europe and beyond.”
Microsoft previously struck similar deals with cloud companies OVHcloud, Aruba and the Danish cloud association to get them to drop separate antitrust complaints.
The U.S. software firm has been facing mounting pressure from regulators across Europe, including a U.K. investigation into cloud services.
This article has been updated with Microsoft agreeing a deal with CISPE.
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