DTP, Prolinx and Centerprise – as well as Google Cloud – are among ten founding members of a new alliance claiming to champion openness, interoperability and fair competition in the cloud computing market.
The Open Cloud Coalition’s (OCC) says its formation comes at a “pivotal moment”, as regulators across Europe intensify scrutiny on the cloud market.
In the UK, the Competitions and Markets Authority (CMA) is currently investigating potential anti-competitive practices by AWS and Microsoft Azure.
The OCC says it intends to release research about the cloud market to inform UK and EU regulators.
Its ten members are:
Centerprise International
Civo
Gigas
Google Cloud
ControlPlane
DTP Group
Prolinx
Pulsant
Clairo
Room 101
Nicky Stewart, a senior cloud industry veteran and OCC spokesperson, urged companies who share its vision to “join us”.
“As cloud infrastructure becomes indispensable, many businesses find themselves trapped in restrictive agreements, facing high costs and barriers when trying to switch or adopt multi-cloud strategies,” she stated.
“The OCC is determined to reverse this trend by promoting a more competitive and flexible market and driving the adoption of open standards.”
Last October, Ofcom referred AWS and Microsoft’s UK public cloud market dominance to the CMA, citing potential concerns over egress fees, interoperability and committed spend discounts. The CMA published an updated Issue Statement on its investigation in June.
Other European countries, such as Spain and Denmark, are conducting their own inquiries, the OCC claimed. It is also keen to ensure cloud openness and fairness are on the agenda of the next European Commission, which is set to be confirmed by the end of the year.
Howard Hall, Managing Director of DTP Group stated: “I am thrilled to be a part of this collective effort aimed at fostering greater competition, resilience, and security within the cloud computing market.
“Our shared goal is to create a dynamic environment that not only drives innovation but also enhances the commercial competitiveness, reliability and safety of cloud services for businesses and consumers alike.”
