United Kingdom: Competition and Markets Authority announced strategic market status investigation into Microsoft

On 25 March 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) Board decided to launch a Strategic Market Status (SMS) investigation into Microsoft's business software ecosystem, with the investigation due to commence in May 2026. The CMA’s 2025 market investigation into cloud services indicated that Microsoft’s software licensing practices may affect competition in cloud services by making the use of Microsoft software more expensive on competing cloud platforms than on Microsoft’s Azure platform. The CMA has also received complaints that rival providers may face constraints in integrating their services with Microsoft’s business software. The SMS investigation may take up to nine months to complete. If, at the conclusion of the investigation, the CMA decides to designate Microsoft as having strategic market status, it may impose conduct requirements or other pro-competition interventions.