Microsoft fights $2.8 billion UK lawsuit over cloud computing licences

LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Microsoft was connected Thursday accused of overcharging thousands of British businesses to usage Windows Server bundle connected ​cloud computing services provided by Amazon, Google and Alibaba, astatine a ‌pivotal proceeding successful a 2.1 billion-pound ($2.81 billion) lawsuit.

Regulators successful Britain, Europe and the United States ‌have separately begun examining Microsoft and others' practices successful narration to unreality computing.

Competition lawyer Maria Luisa Stasi is bringing the lawsuit connected behalf of astir 60,000 businesses that usage the Windows Server connected rival unreality platforms, arguing Microsoft makes ⁠it much costly than connected ‌its ain unreality computing work Azure.

Stasi is asking London's Competition Appeal Tribunal to certify the lawsuit to proceed, an ‍early measurement successful the proceedings.

Microsoft, however, says Stasi's lawsuit does not acceptable retired a due blueprint for however the tribunal volition enactment retired immoderate alleged losses and should ​be thrown out.

MICROSOFT ACCUSED OF 'ABUSIVE STRATEGY'

Stasi's lawyer Sarah Ford told the ‌tribunal that thousands of businesses had been overcharged due to the fact that Microsoft charges higher prices to those who bash not usage Azure, making it a cheaper enactment than Amazon's AWS oregon the Google Cloud Platform.

She besides said that "Microsoft degrades the idiosyncratic acquisition of Windows Server" connected rival platforms, which Ford said was ⁠part of "a coherent abusive strategy to leverage ​Microsoft's ascendant position" successful the unreality computing market.

Microsoft ​argues that its vertically integrated business, wherever it uses Windows Server arsenic an input for Azure portion besides licensing it ‍to rivals, tin payment ⁠competition.

In July, an enquiry radical from Britain's Competition and Markets Authority said Microsoft's licensing practices reduced contention for unreality services "by materially disadvantaging ⁠AWS and Google".

Microsoft said astatine the clip that the group's study had ignored that "the unreality ‌market has ne'er been truthful dynamic and competitive".

($1 = 0.7473 pounds)

(Reporting by ‌Sam Tobin; editing by Barbara Lewis)