An alliance of European cloud providers has won concessions from Microsoft over its software licensing practices that could settle a long-running battle.
As part of the deal, Cloud Infrastructure Services Providers in Europe (CISPE) said members will now be allowed to offer Microsoft software to customers on a pay-as-you-go basis via the CSP-Hoster (CSP-H) program, with stronger privacy for customers of European cloud providers.
This, it said, will make pricing conditions for products including Windows Server and SQL Server more comparable to those of Microsoft’s own cloud platform, Azure.
“The agreement we reached with Microsoft marks a significant breakthrough in our long-standing efforts to ensure a level playing field,” said Francisco Mingorance, secretary general of CISPE.
“For enterprise customers, the new programs directly address previous concerns of CISPE members and empowers European enterprises to choose among a wide range of cloud solutions that meet their sovereignty, compliance, and economic needs.”
Meanwhile, Microsoft 365 Local will allow deployment on local cloud infrastructure, taking a further step toward digital sovereignty for European customers.
The deal applies to current CISPE members and eligible European cloud providers who join CISPE in the coming months. Microsoft has said it may expand access after a one-year review of the program's effectiveness.
Notably, the deal doesn’t apply to hyperscale cloud providers designated by Microsoft as ‘Listed Providers’. This, CISPE said, will help support competition and innovation across the European digital ecosystem by strengthening regional providers.
What’s the story behind the Microsoft-CISPE dispute?
The conflict between Microsoft and CISPE stretches back several years, with the latter having filed a formal complaint with the European Commission in 2022 amid claims the tech giant imposes higher charges for customers running its software on rival clouds.
In May this year, the European Cloud Competition Observatory (ECCO), charged with providing independent oversight on a deal, issued a report describing Microsoft's offering as 'disappointing' and giving the company an Amber rating.
Ryan Triplette, executive director of the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing, suggested the agreement still leaves questions unanswered.
"Every stalling tactic has just bought Microsoft more time to lock in customers with restrictive and anti-competitive licensing practices," he said.
"This is more smoke and mirrors from Microsoft: offer weak concessions in an attempt to avoid regulatory scrutiny and disingenuously pretend these actions promote European competition," Triplette added.
"Meanwhile, Microsoft continues to line its pockets at the expense of customer choice around the world.”
Notably, the deal lacks two provisions that CISPE had been calling for. First and foremost, it doesn't allow for Windows 10/11 VDI multi-session on European-owned multi-tenant infrastructure.
Similarly, it doesn’t remove the need to use Entra ID to activate Azure Active Directory and Microsoft 365 to allow full replacement and interoperability.
Make sure to follow ITPro on Google News to keep tabs on all our latest news, analysis, and reviews.
MORE FROM ITPRO
- Microsoft’s EU data boundary project crosses the finish line
- What the new Microsoft Sovereign Cloud push means for European customers
- Software licensing is becoming a minefield for IT leaders
-
Let’s talk about digital sovereigntyIn the age of AI and cloud, where data resides is a key consideration
-
Lack of visibility creates "cascade" of security risk, says KiteworksNews Organizations that don't keep track of data breaches, shadow AI, and third-party counts face dramatically worse outcomes across every metric
-
Microsoft touts new Copilot features in Excel, but says you shouldn’t use them if you want accurate resultsNews Microsoft has warned against using new AI features in Excel for “tasks with legal, regulatory, or compliance implications” – so when can you use it?
-
A senior Microsoft exec says future Windows versions will offer more interactive, ‘multimodal’ experiencesNews With speculation over a Windows 12 reveal mounting, a senior company figure claims the new operating system will mark a step change for users
-
Microsoft says AI is finally having a 'meaningful impact' on developer productivity – and 80% 'would be sad if they could no longer use it'News Researchers at Microsoft wanted to demystify how AI is being used by software developers – their findings show the benefits are finally becoming clear.
-
Microsoft’s botched August updates wiped SSDs, now it’s breaking PC resets and recoveries on WindowsNews An out-of-band patch has been issued by Microsoft to fix a flaw introduced by its August update
-
A Windows 11 update bug is breaking SSDs – here’s what you can do to prevent itNews Users first began reporting the Windows 11 update bug last week
-
What Thomas Dohmke’s departure means for GitHubNews Thomas Dohmke won't be replaced as CEO at GitHub, with remaining company execs reporting directly to Microsoft's CoreAI division.
-
Software licensing is becoming a minefield for IT leaders – and it’s driving them into the arms of the open source communityNews Oracle Java is causing particular headaches, with many saying they plan to migrate to open source alternatives
-
OpenAI's plan to acquire AI coding startup Windsurf ended in disaster – here’s how the deal fell apartNews The acquisition by Cognition comes after a rumored $3bn offer from OpenAI fell through
