EU industry group has its eye on Microsofts cloud business [Video]

“Its initial function will be to monitor progress on delivering the requirements of that settlement,” a CIPSE spokesperson told Network World in an email Wednesday. “In this way, it is an innovative and, we believe, effective way to find and enforce negotiated settlements to anti-trust issues.”

Cloud vendors had raised concerns after their customers were asked to pay more to run Microsoft software in non-Microsoft cloud environments, under what they saw as restrictive cloud licensing policies. Microsoft settled to avoid being subject to further antitrust proceedings by the EU.

Ensuring a level playing field

European enterprise IT user organizations such as Cigref in France and Beltug in Belgium will act as observers for ECCO, ensuring customer perspectives are reflected in its reports, according to CISPE. Technical experts also will contribute specialized insights as needed, and Microsoft will also take part in the proceedings.

ECCO’s initial task is to assess Microsoft’s progress on software commitments outlined in the settlement, and a …