Highlights:

  • The decision was made in response to complaints from several Microsoft customers in the EU who claimed that the company’s license conditions made it prohibitively more expensive to run Office and Windows workloads on cloud computing platforms like Amazon Web Services and Google Cloud.
  • Microsoft took its time but finally declared in May 2022 that it would make efforts to ensure that customers may use its software on non-Microsoft cloud platforms in the EU for an equivalent price.

Microsoft Corp. stated today that new licensing agreements and other contractual modifications will go into effect on October 1, which will make it simpler for cloud service providers to compete with the firm.

The declaration is a response to a three-year-old complaint about Microsoft’s unfair licensing conditions in the European Union.

Microsoft stated in a blog post on its EU Policy Blog that it values a “competitive environment in the European cloud provider market, in which smaller competitors can thrive.” The business claims that as a result, it is making efforts to “remain mindful” of its obligations as a significant tech supplier.

The decision was made in response to complaints from several Microsoft customers in the EU who claimed that the company’s license conditions made it prohibitively more expensive to run their Office and Windows workloads on Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, and such cloud computing platforms. Local antitrust authorities started looking into this, and Microsoft later acknowledged the authenticity of the complaints against it.

Microsoft took its time but finally declared in May 2022 that it would make efforts to ensure that customers may use its software on non-Microsoft cloud platforms in the EU for an equivalent price. Today, the plan’s precise specifics were revealed.

The business announced in a blog post that it would update its hosting and outsourcing policies within the next two months. Due to those developments, companies will discover that using Microsoft’s software on competing cloud platforms will be simpler and more affordable.

Later, Microsoft Corporate Vice President Nicole Dezen explained about the changes and said that the company is streamlining its licensing terms and increasing the variety of products that will be provided at a fixed price for more extended periods in response to customer requests. Dezen continued, “We also want to provide more opportunities for customers to be able to have Microsoft software hosted on partner’s infrastructure.”

Microsoft’s plan also includes the introduction of a new Flexible Virtualization Benefit, a new Windows Server virtual core licensing option for Software Assurance and subscription licenses. It will eliminate the requirement for an add-on license for Virtual Desktop Applications for Microsoft 365 F3, E3, and E5. Instead, users will have a variety of pre-built hosted desktop and server options from outside vendors who are part of the Microsoft Cloud Solution Provider program. Then, customers have two options: either bring their license or buy one from the Microsoft partner.

Microsoft claims that the modification would make it simpler for customers to migrate their licenses between other clouds, providing them with more flexible deployment options for the Microsoft products they depend on.