A South African antitrust agency is set to probe Microsoft over its cloud computing licensing practices, according to Reuters, citing a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
The case comes as the US software giant faces a similar EU complaint by rivals over its cloud computing licensing practises.
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In 2022, CISPE, an industry group that includes Amazon and 26 EU cloud providers, filed a complaint against the tech giant claiming its new contractual terms were harming cloud computing competition in Europe.
The EU previously said it had received multiple complaints about Microsoft, some of which targeted its cloud computing platform Azure.
Microsoft told Reuters it was not aware of a complaint filed by the South African competition authority.
The US tech giant has acquired $1.7bn in EU antitrust fines over the past ten years and has been making changes to try and appease regulators.
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By GlobalDataIn mid-2022, Microsoft amended its cloud licensing practises after its rivals complained to the EU watchdog.
The US saw a decrease in the value of cloud deals in 2023, following an industry peak in investment in 2021.
According to GlobalData's deals database, the value of deals in 2023 totalled $19.1bn. This marked a significant decrease from 2021 when deals totalled $54bn.
According to GlobalData forecasts, the total cloud computing market will be worth $1.4trn in 2027, having grown at a compound annual growth rate of 17.1% from $638.6bn in 2022.
