What changed
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has opened a consultation on giving Microsoft’s business-software portfolio “strategic market status.” The review covers Windows, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Teams, security software, server operating systems and relational databases.
The CMA says Microsoft has substantial and entrenched market power across five areas. It is considering rules around bundled discounts, technical interoperability and the company’s ability to use its software position to affect competition in adjacent cloud services.
Why it matters
This is about the cost of choosing something else.
Microsoft’s integrated stack can make life easier: products connect smoothly, and buying them together can reduce licensing costs. But those same discounts can make switching look expensive. A company considering a rival productivity, security or server product may have to keep paying for overlapping Microsoft licenses, weakening the practical value of a competing service even when it offers similar or better functionality.
If the CMA designates Microsoft, possible interventions could require technical choices to remain compatible with other providers and limit commercial arrangements that restrict competition. That could give businesses more freedom to mix software from different suppliers instead of treating Microsoft’s portfolio as one large package.
The designation itself would not establish wrongdoing, and whether it happens remains undecided. Businesses and rivals can submit comments by November 13, 2026; the CMA is due to make its final decision by February 13, 2027.
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