CMA publishes provisional findings on cloud services market investigation
The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA)’s independent inquiry group has published provisional findings from its assessment of the UK cloud services market. The report indicates that competition in the £9bn market is not functioning optimally, likely resulting in higher costs, fewer choices, reduced innovation, and lower service quality for businesses and organisations across the economy. The report highlights that AWS and Microsoft are the two leading cloud service providers, each holding up to a 40% share of UK customer spend on cloud services. The inquiry group provisionally recommends that the CMA consider using its new powers under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA 2024) to designate AWS and Microsoft with strategic market status concerning their digital activities in cloud services. It will consult on these provisional findings before making a final decision by the statutory deadline of 4 August 2025.