UK cloud firms back urgent regulation as CMA reviews Microsoft, AWS

More than 70% of UK unreality providers enactment urgent regulatory involution successful the unreality market, according to caller probe conducted by Censuswide for the Open Cloud Coalition (OCC).

The findings travel arsenic the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) prepares to determine whether to designate Microsoft and Amazon Web Services (AWS) with Strategic Market Status (SMS), amid concerns astir contention successful the sector.

The survey indicates that 71.2% of participating unreality providers see regulatory enactment to beryllium urgent oregon highly urgent. Nearly three-quarters of respondents judge that without swift intervention, ascendant unreality providers are apt to fortify their marketplace positions further.

Additionally, 82% of unreality providers person encountered barriers erstwhile competing with larger players, citing restrictive bundle licensing, bundling, interoperability challenges, and committed-spend discounts arsenic important obstacles.

Cloud customers expressed akin concerns, with astir 65% stating that accelerated regulatory measures to heighten contention and trim vendor lock-in are precise important for their organisations.

A further 33% labeled specified enactment arsenic somewhat important. When asked astir the imaginable interaction of delayed regulation, 68% of buyers predicted accrued costs, and astir two-thirds anticipated reduced organisational flexibility.

Surveyed providers constituent to important switching costs and constricted interoperability arsenic large factors making it hard for customers to transportation workloads oregon follow multi-cloud strategies. These conditions reenforce reliance connected AWS and Microsoft portion raising barriers for competitors.

Industry representatives pass that delays successful CMA involution whitethorn pb to greater marketplace concentration, making aboriginal regulatory enactment little effectual and much costly.

The Open Cloud Coalition, which commissioned the survey, consists of 24 unreality work providers and users advocating for a divers and competitory manufacture crossed the UK, EU, and planetary markets. The radical supports principles specified arsenic openness, competition, security, and reliability wrong the sector.

Open Cloud Coalition elder advisor Nicky Stewart said: “The unreality marketplace is nary longer moving arsenic it should. Without urgent and effectual intervention, ascendant providers volition proceed to fastener customers successful and consolidate their power, to the detriment of competition, innovation and the UK’s integer economy.”

The CMA concluded its Cloud Services Market Investigation successful July 2025, identifying issues specified arsenic restrictive bundle licensing and method barriers to switching providers arsenic detrimental to competition.