The UK’s competition watchdog is poking into Microsoft’s Office empire to see whether bundling has nobbled business software choice.
According to Engadget the UK Competition and Markets Authority will begin a strategic market status investigation into the Software King of the World this month. The regulator will examine whether bundling Windows, Word, Excel, Teams, Copilot and related Office products is making the market less competitive.
CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said the watchdog wanted to understand Microsoft’s grip on business software markets.
“Our aim is to understand how these markets are developing, Microsoft’s position within them, and to consider what, if any, targeted action may be needed to ensure UK organisations can benefit from choice, innovation and competitive prices,” Cardell said.
The CMA will examine Volish cloud licensing practices and will conclude its inquiry by February. At that point, Vole could be slapped with a strategic market label.
A strategic market designation does not automatically mean wrongdoing. It does, however, give the CMA more room to intervene if it decides the software giant has been playing bundle-the-bloat again.
This is not the first time the CMA has given Vole a cold, hard stare. The regulator launched an investigation in 2023 into Microsoft’s relationship with OpenAI.
In 2024, it examined whether Microsoft had dodged merger scrutiny by recruiting staff from AI outfit Inflection rather than buying it outright.
Vole has also had legal bother in the US. The Federal Trade Commission launched investigations into Microsoft’s massive OpenAI investments and the Inflection caper.
