Improving software licensing is the key to cracking cloud market dominance

The largest cloud service providers have massive sway in the cloud market. Microsoft has made recent headlines about its cloud monopoly, with many seeking to level critiques at the hyperscalers and their stranglehold on cloud infrastructure.

But facing down the looming threat of regulatory clampdowns by the EU and by Ofcom, some sector experts argue regulators would be better off focusing on other issues.

Matthew Sinclair, senior director at the Computer and Communications Industry Association (CCIA), is one such figure. Speaking at a panel discussion on regulation at Cloud Expo London 2024, Sinclair argues that instead of headlines about cloud monopolies, software licensing deserves more attention.

Sinclair acknowledges the cloud sector is an industry fundamentally prone to the sort of anti-competition issues playing out at the moment, but that this doesn’t mean it is the number one concern of customers. “You are not going to end up with 5,000 companies doing what AWS does,” he says, pointing to the scale and complexity of the cloud market.

In reality, Sinclair argues, many customers of the hyperscalers are actually getting an appropriate level of choice, and are selecting their cloud providers on valuable metrics. “If you look at the cloud market, I think there is a lot of encouragement,” Sinclair says.

“Most customers are using multiple cloud providers already, and when they’re deciding between cloud providers, they’ll tell you they’re choosing based on price, policy of service, security, feature set,” he adds.

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