The Zhitong Finance App learned that the UK Competition and Market Authority (CMA) said on Friday that Microsoft (MSFT.US) control over commercial software is making it more difficult for customers to change suppliers, so it is proposed to implement stricter supervision of the tech giant. The CMA said it will decide whether to determine whether Microsoft has a “strategic market position” before February next year. Once confirmed, the CMA will have the power to intervene in areas such as cloud licensing, AI productivity tools, and security software.
“Microsoft's advantage in commercial software stems from the barriers customers face when switching vendors; these barriers limit customer choices and weaken competitive constraints from other software developers,” the CMA said on Friday.
The decision has exacerbated the regulatory challenges Microsoft faces in the UK. Three years ago, Microsoft had a fierce regulatory clash with CMA over the $69 billion acquisition of game publisher Activision Blizzard. In addition, the CMA is also investigating whether Microsoft misled customers to pay more for software subscriptions after adding Copilot AI products to the package.
Microsoft said the company “does not agree” with the CMA's views in its proposed decision on commercial software solutions. “All of our products — including Copilot — are open and interoperable, enabling customers to use them with competing services.”
The CMA launched the investigation earlier this year because it was concerned about Microsoft's monopoly position in commercial software such as office software, operating systems, and database management software. According to the CMA, these commercial software include Word, Outlook, and Copilot, and have around 20 million monthly active users in the UK.
The CMA is reviewing “whether the way Microsoft bundles and integrates its security products limits customer choices.” The regulator will investigate further to assess the possibility of intervening with software bundling and give customers more options, including choosing an artificial intelligence service provider that competes with Microsoft Copilot.