The UK Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) forthcoming antitrust report into Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft is facing scrutiny over potential conflict of interest issues, as reported by Computer Weekly. Despite its role in probing these tech giants' preferential pricing in the UK cloud market, the CMA is benefiting from AWS’s discounted services.
Mark Boost, CEO of UK-based cloud provider Civo, expressed concern about the implications of this revelation.
“The investigation into AWS and Microsoft is a much-needed opportunity to make the cloud market a truly competitive space,” he told Computer Weekly. Boost added, “We hope that the CMA’s commitment to AWS doesn’t interfere with the outcome of the investigation.”
Tussell, a public sector IT market analyst, has confirmed the CMA as one of several public bodies partaking in AWS’s preferential pricing. This raises significant questions about the fairness and transparency of the CMA’s investigation.
Amidst these concerns, the CMA has not commented on how it plans to manage this apparent conflict of interest. The organization's involvement in AWS’s One Government Value Agreement (OGVA) adds complexity, especially as their AWS contract overlaps with the investigation period.
For a detailed analysis and further insights, visit Computer Weekly’s exclusive report here.