Cloud switching barriers remain a concern for Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority, which said on October 16, 2026, that Amazon Web Services and Microsoft could do more to help customers change providers or use multiple cloud services. The regulator acknowledged meaningful improvements but is continuing to seek further action, while keeping a formal cloud investigation under review.
Key Takeaways
- The CMA wants further improvements despite progress on cloud transfer fees and interoperability.
- The next areas of work include cross-cloud identity management and portable cloud architectures.
- Cloud engagement remains outside a formal designation process, with another update due in spring 2027.
Table of Contents
- Cloud switching improvements leave barriers unresolved
- Identity management and portability are the next priorities
- Formal cloud action remains a possibility, not a decision
- Conclusion
Cloud switching improvements leave barriers unresolved
The CMA’s October cloud monitoring update describes progress following changes AWS and Microsoft announced in March 2026. The regulator has been examining internal data and product developments to assess delivery and identify where additional changes are needed.
For business customers, the issue is not simply whether another provider offers a better price. Applications and workloads built for one cloud environment can be difficult to move or combine with services elsewhere. Reducing transfer charges helps, but technical barriers can still restrict customers’ ability to choose.
The CMA identified several developments from the two companies, spanning connections with competing providers, transfer fees, interoperability requests and migration tools. Those measures represent progress, not a finding that switching obstacles have been eliminated.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Data-centre connections | Connections with rival providers are beginning with Google. |
| Data transfer fees | The CMA described removal for customers changing providers and reductions for customers using multiple clouds. |
| Interoperability requests | A new mechanism allows competitors and customers to request greater interoperability. |
| Migration tools | AI tools are being rolled out to automate technical switching steps. |
Identity management and portability are the next priorities
The regulator said it had agreed with AWS and Microsoft to focus on improving identity and access management across clouds. This concerns how customers manage access when using services from more than one provider.
The companies will also work on ensuring that cloud architectures designed for portability can be deployed and migrated across providers without unnecessary barriers. The practical goal is to make customer choice easier to exercise, rather than merely available in principle.
For AWS and Microsoft, the scrutiny concerns how readily customers can move workloads or spread them across competing platforms. The October update did not announce a new package of mandatory cloud pricing or contract restrictions.
Formal cloud action remains a possibility, not a decision
The CMA said it would continue its targeted engagement while keeping the possibility of launching a full strategic market status investigation under review. It had not announced such a cloud investigation in this update.
That position is separate from the regulator’s October 16 proposal to designate Microsoft with strategic market status in its business software ecosystem. The software proposal is subject to consultation and is not a final designation; it should not be confused with the ongoing engagement involving both cloud providers.
Conclusion
The next confirmed checkpoint is the CMA’s spring 2027 cloud update. It will provide a further assessment of progress as the regulator continues working with AWS and Microsoft on the remaining barriers to switching and using multiple providers.
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