Google Says Microsoft’s ‘Walled Garden’ Is Creating Monopoly In Cloud Computing – News18

BRUSSELS: Alphabet’s Google Cloud on Monday ramped up its criticism of Microsoft’s cloud computing practices, saying its rival is looking for a monopoly that will hurt the event of rising applied sciences similar to generative synthetic intelligence.

Microsoft and Amazon have lately attracted scrutiny in Britain, the European Union and the United States over their market energy in cloud computing. Google trails a distant third behind the 2 leaders.

Microsoft’s collaboration with ChatGPT creator OpenAI has additionally ratcheted up the considerations.

“We worry about Microsoft wanting to flex their decade-long practices where they had a lot of monopoly on the on-premise software before and now they are trying to push that into cloud now,” Google Cloud Vice President Amit Zavery stated in an interview.

“So they are creating this whole walled garden, which is completely controlled and owned by Microsoft, and customers who want to do any of this stuff, you have to go to Microsoft only,” he stated.

“If Microsoft cloud doesn’t remain open, we will have issues and long-term problems, even in next generation technologies like AI as well, because Microsoft is forcing customers to go to Azure in many ways,” Zavery stated, referring to Microsoft’s cloud computing platform.

He urged antitrust regulators to behave.

“I think regulators need to provide some kind of guidance as well as maybe regulations which prevent the way Microsoft is building the Azure cloud business, not allow your on-premise monopoly to bring it into the cloud monopoly,” Zavery stated.

Microsoft dismissed that argument.

“As the latest independent data shows, competition between cloud hyperscalers remains healthy,” stated a Microsoft spokesperson. “In 2023, Microsoft and Google made small gains on AWS, which continues to remain the global market leader by a significant margin.”

Microsoft President Brad Smith on Monday took a veiled swipe at Google.

“Today, only one company is vertically integrated in a manner that includes every AI layer from chips to a thriving mobile app store,” he informed the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Zavery additionally criticised Microsoft’s agreements with particular person cloud distributors, saying these ignore the broader points. Trade group CISPE final month stated it was in talks with Microsoft to resolve its EU antitrust grievance about its cloud computing licensing practices.

“Microsoft has been very smart, picking individual vendors who complain and do one-side deals but they don’t solve the broader problem. So they can choose the winners and losers in many case as well, so they kind of pick who they want to compete with,” Zavery stated.

Microsoft refuted the criticism.

“We have listened to and work constructively and directly with independent cloud providers to change our licensing terms, addressing their concerns and providing more opportunity for them. Worldwide, more than 100 cloud providers have already taken advantage of these changes,” a Microsoft spokesperson stated.

(This story has been edited by News18 workers and is revealed from a syndicated news company feed – Reuters)