CMA flags AWS, Microsoft for stifling UK cloud competition

By Vriti Gothi

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released its final decision following a detailed investigation into anti-competitive practices in the UK cloud services market. The regulator concluded that hyperscalers, specifically Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS), wield significant unilateral market power, creating obstacles for fair competition and limiting options for customers.

At the heart of the CMA’s concerns are complex pricing models and high data egress fees, which make it costly and cumbersome for customers to switch cloud providers. These practices, the CMA argues, have effectively locked in many organisations, discouraging innovation and reducing market flexibility.

Challenger cloud storage company Wasabi Technologies, which has closely followed the CMA investigation, welcomed the findings and called for swift action. Kevin Dunn, Vice President and General Manager for EMEA at Wasabi, endorsed the CMA’s stance and emphasised the need for immediate remedies to ease the pressure on UK businesses.

While the CMA has recommended launching a more in-depth probe to assess long-term structural changes, Dunn argued that interim steps are essential. Referencing internal research conducted by Wasabi, he noted that 51% of UK companies exceeded their cloud budgets in the past year, largely due to hidden fees and a lack of pricing transparency.

Positioning itself as a customer-centric alternative, Wasabi offers flat-rate pricing and zero egress fees, an approach designed to empower customers with full control over their data and costs. As more businesses seek transparency and flexibility in their IT infrastructure, Wasabi believes its offering aligns with market demands.

The CMA’s findings are particularly relevant to the UK’s FinTech sector, which relies heavily on scalable and cost-efficient cloud infrastructure. For startups and growth-stage firms building solutions in areas like embedded finance, digital payments, and RegTech, fair access to cloud services can be a critical enabler.

If regulatory pressure forces dominant players to revise restrictive practices, the entire FinTech ecosystem could benefit by unlocking innovations, reducing operational costs, and enabling a more competitive environment.

The CMA’s intervention may signal a turning point in cloud infrastructure governance one that could level the playing field and open new opportunities for disruptors like Wasabi to thrive in an evolving digital economy.

Kevin Dunn, VP & GM EMEA at Wasabi, said, “The CMA investigation has rightly highlighted some outdated practices such as the complex hyperscaler pricing models and how egress fees prohibit end users from freely switching to a new provider. Cloud computing is a critical utility today, and the lack of predictability on costs has created a significant hurdle for UK organisations to overcome. While the CMA recommends a new probe in the future, customers need more support from cloud providers today to help manage their spend – 51% of UK companies told us they have exceeded their budget in the last year. Wasabi will continue to enable our customers to freely access their information without hidden costs or data mobility constraints.”