United Kingdom: Published Ofcom final report on cloud services market study

On 5 October 2023, the Office of Communications (Ofcom) released its final report on the cloud infrastructure services market study. The report found that Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft are the leading providers of cloud infrastructure services in the UK, holding a combined market share of 70-80%, with Google as the closest competitor at 5-10%. These major players, collectively referred to as "hyperscalers,", dominate the market, posing challenges related to egress fees, technical barriers to interoperability and portability, and committed spend discounts. More specifically, Ofcom identified concerns regarding features that may impede customers' ability to switch or use multiple providers, limiting their bargaining power and ability to access the best services from various sources. This could make it harder for competitors in the market to gain scale and challenge AWS and Microsoft effectively for the business of new and existing customers.