U.K. Antitrust Watchdog Targets Microsoft’s Software Suite in Fresh Probe
In Focus
- The CMA probe focuses on Microsoft’s enterprise software suite
- Microsoft’s antitrust investigation in the U.K starts in May 2026
- The tech company has committed to resolve CMA’s concerns quickly
U.K.’s antitrust watchdog is launching a fresh probe into Microsoft’s software business, as per a report by CNBC. U.K.’s Microsoft software investigation comes at a time when Europe is intensifying tech stack diversification push and enhancing digital sovereignty.
Probe to Evaluate Microsoft’s Market Dominance
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced that it will commence a strategic market status probe into Microsoft’s enterprise software suite starting in May 2026. Most enterprises and public organizations in the country use the tech giant’s business software suite.
“An SMS designation would enable us to tackle remaining concerns around Microsoft’s licensing practices in cloud and would also enable us to ensure a level playing field as AI is rapidly embedded into everyday business software tools,” CMA CEO Sarah Cardell stated.
In October 2025, the CMA imposed the strategic market status on Google and Apple following a probe into their mobile platforms. Google termed the decision by the regulator as disproportionate under U.K.’s digital law.
The strategic market status designation does not imply any wrongdoing by the tech giants. However, it means that they must comply with antitrust rules to ensure that they do not abuse their market dominance. Microsoft’s software suite includes the Windows operating system and applications such as MS Word, Excel, Teams, and its AI-powered platform, CoPilot.
Microsoft to Resolve CMA Concerns Quickly
The U.S. tech giant has committed to cooperate in Microsoft’s U.K. antitrust investigation. The company said it will work towards addressing the concerns raised by the CMA ‘quickly and constructively’.
“We recognize that the CMA will continue to review and assess additional issues relating to our products and services, including in the business software market,” Microsoft’s President, Brad Smith noted.
The CMA is mounting an investigation into Microsoft’s software business shortly after the tech giant rolled out early access to Copilot Cowork on the 365 Frontier Program. The launch introduced an agentic tool that’s capable of handling complex, multi-step tasks across apps like Excel, Outlook, and SharePoint.
CMA Probed Microsoft Over Cloud Licensing
This is not the first time that the Windows maker has come under CMA’s scrutiny. In July 2025, the British regulator found that Microsoft and Amazon held ‘significant unilateral market power’ in the cloud service market.
According to CMA’s report, the two companies controlled between 30% and 40% of the Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) market in the U.K. IaaS includes storage, networking, processing, and other cloud computing services. The tech giants have since engaged the regulator and outlined actions on cloud egress fees, which are charges that relate to switching providers, as well as interoperability.
“The changes address the CMA’s commitment to ensuring that U.K. customers can continue to move, deploy, and operate their workloads in the clouds of their choice with confidence, flexibility, and ever reduced friction,” Smith said.
The EU also mounted a probe into Microsoft Azure and AWS under the Digital Markets Act last year. U.S. tech companies have come under increased scrutiny in Europe as concerns over reliance on American providers emerge.
