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BRUSSELS – Microsoft, which has been fined 1.6 billion euros ($ 1.7 billion) by EU antitrust regulators, will revise its licensing terms and allow cloud service providers to compete better in response to complaints, its president Brad Smith said Wednesday.
The agency is taking the first steps to address the concerns but not the last, Smith said at a conference hosted by think tank Brugel in Brussels.
Microsoft wants to hear the allegations and act, he said.
“It really starts with giving more options to European cloud providers. So if there is a company that has a data center but they want to run the solution in its cloud PBX data center, we are creating more options for them to do it with our software, because That’s what they want, “he said.
Smith said the changes include allowing cloud service providers to offer Windows as a full-fledged desktop operating system, providing long-term value protection and revising licensing terms.
German software provider NextCloud, France’s OVHCloud and two other companies have found themselves on the EU’s competition enforcement radar after complaints about Microsoft’s cloud practices. ($ 1 = 0.9518 euros) (Reporting by Fu Eun Chi; Editing by Jason Nelly)