英国CMA拟认定微软商业软件具战略市场地位
英国竞争与市场管理局（CMA）10月16日提议认定微软在商业软件生态系统中具有战略市场地位，并就此公开征求意见，反馈截止日期为11月13日，最终决定预计于2027年2月公布。CMA称微软在个人电脑操作系统、办公软件、安全软件、服务器操作系统和关系型数据库管理系统五个领域均占据较强市场地位，用户转换成本与产品捆绑等做法可能限制竞争。CMA还将进一步调查客户能否自由选用AI工具、其他厂商能否与Copilot竞争，以及安全软件捆绑方式和软件授权对云服务选择的影响；微软回应称包括Copilot在内的产品均为开放、可互操作的设计。
若该认定最终获批，监管机构可能有权干预微软将Excel、Teams及Copilot等产品捆绑销售的做法，并推动改善互操作性，这将是英国数字市场竞争制度下第三家企业被纳入约束。
- CMA investigation finds that Microsoft has "a strong position" across five separate areas
- An ongoing investigation is also considering whether Copilot has an advantage
- Microsoft could have to make changes to licensing and improve interoperability
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is proposing to give Microsoft a Strategic Market Status (SMS) designation in the business software market as a result of an earlier investigation into its software practices and impact on competition.
Core to the investigation was the company's extensive software ecosystem, which customers reportedly find difficult to leave to switch providers.
According to the data, around 20 million people use Microsoft's software in the UK every month, including private businesses and public sector organizations.
CMA proposes labelling Microsoft with SMS in the UK
"Microsoft has a strong position across each of the 5 areas of digital activity that the CMA investigated," the CMA wrote. Those five areas include operating systems, productivity software, security software, server operating systems and database management systems.
#Microsoft#Copilot#UK Competition and Markets Authority#Excel#Teams#AWS#Sarah Cardell#Google#Apple