Google filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission, alleging that Microsoft leveraged its dominant position in enterprise software to encourage customers to use its cloud services, as reported by The Information on Wednesday.
According to Reuters, Google has filed a complaint stating that Microsoft utilized the licensing terms in its Office 365 software to require customers to sign separate contracts with its Azure cloud server business.
There is competition between two major tech companies in the fast-growing, multi-billion-dollar cloud computing industry. Google is currently behind market leaders Amazon.com and Microsoft.
The sector has been receiving increased regulatory attention in both the United States and Britain due to a few players dominating the market and its growing importance as more companies move their services to the cloud.
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In March, Google Cloud made accusations against Microsoft regarding alleged anti-competitive practices in cloud computing and expressed concerns about licensing terms in upcoming deals with European cloud vendors.
The FTC announced earlier this year that they are gathering information from the public regarding the business practices of cloud computing companies. The information sought includes details on their market power, competition, and potential security issues.
