Microsoft’s decision to discourage users from running its software on non-Microsoft clouds by increasing costs is still causing issues for customers of Google Cloud Platform and Alibaba Cloud. While Microsoft recently changed its terms to allow AWS customers to use its office software on the rival platform, similar changes have not been extended to Google Cloud and Alibaba Cloud customers.
As of August 1, Microsoft allowed “users with specific licenses to run Microsoft 365 Apps for enterprise/business, Microsoft Project, and Microsoft Visio on Amazon WorkSpaces” virtual desktop infrastructure. However, Microsoft has not indicated whether similar changes will be made for Google Cloud and Alibaba Cloud customers.
Anonymous sources suggest that there are no technical reasons why Google Cloud and Alibaba Cloud customers should be excluded; the decision appears to be purely commercial in nature. Microsoft has not commented on why AWS received preferential treatment in this regard.
Gartner Research VP Michael Silver believes that the issue persists for all cloud providers and that customers should continue to lobby Microsoft to eliminate limitations related to cloud provider usage. Microsoft has faced criticism in European discussions due to unfair licensing terms that make switching providers or implementing multicloud environments challenging and costly. While Microsoft has promised to work with relevant bodies, it has not provided specific details on its plans.
