Commission reaches preliminary position that Amazon’s and Microsoft’s market leading cloud services should be designated under the DMA

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission.

The Commission has informed Amazon and Microsoft of its preliminary view that they should be designated as gatekeepers under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), for their cloud computing services, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft Azure (Azure) respectively.

In both cases, the Commission preliminarily finds that AWS and Azure, the largest and second largest cloud computing services in the EU respectively, are an important gateway between businesses and their customers in the EU. This is the case despite them not meeting the DMA’s quantitative thresholds for designation.

Amazon and Microsoft have already been designated as gatekeepers for other services, demonstrating their significant impact on the internal market. Their cloud computing services AWS and Azure have achieved significant turnover, and their operational capacity and investments seem to have significantly outpaced those of competitors. They both have vast and entrenched user bases and appear to benefit from lock-in effects and high switching costs, in addition to a large ecosystem.

Furthermore, their portfolio of Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools and partnerships have become a decisive factor in cloud procurement. Whilst AI is significantly increasing the demand for cloud-related services, AWS and Azure appear to retain a large proportion of this increased demand within their respective ecosystems.

Finally, both Amazon and Microsoft appear to hold an entrenched and durable position in the EU cloud computing sector, as is evidenced by AWS’s and Azure’s leading market position over many years.

Background

Cloud computing is increasingly important for the European economy and serves as a key resource, not only for digital services but across many industry sectors, such as manufacturing and retail, healthcare, and financial services. It is also the backbone for the development and operation of AI services. To foster innovation, and Europe’s strategic autonomy, cloud computing services must be provided in a fair, open and competitive environment.

The DMA aims to ensure contestable and fair markets in the digital sector. It identifies large digital platforms, or ‘gatekeepers’, that provide an important gateway between businesses and users, sets out responsibilities, and bans unfair practices.

The Commission launched two market investigations on 18 November 2025 to assess whether Amazon and Microsoft should be designated as gatekeepers for their cloud computing services. During these investigations, the Commission gathered insights from business users, competitors, and other stakeholders.

Even if a large digital platform does not meet the quantitative thresholds for designation under the DMA based on quantitative thresholds such as user numbers, the Commission can investigate whether the provider should still be designated as a gatekeeper. This can be due to the company’s significant impact on the internal market, to the provision of a service that serves as an important gateway for business users to reach end users, as well as to its entrenched and durable position in the market. 

When carrying out an investigation, the Commission assesses elements such as the provider’s size, the number of users, the network effects in a market, scale and scope effects, the lock-in and switching costs, and the conglomerate corporate structure or vertical integration of that company.

On 18 November 2025, the Commission also opened a third investigation to assess whether the current obligations under the DMA are effective in addressing practices that limit competitiveness or are unfair in the cloud sector. In all three investigations, the Commission is supported by the Dutch Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) in the form of a joint investigative team, as provided for in the cooperation rules under the DMA. 

Next steps

Preliminary findings do not prejudge the outcome of an investigation. Amazon and Microsoft now have the possibility to exercise their rights of defence, including by examining the documents in the Commission’s investigation file and replying in writing to these preliminary findings.

If the Commission’s preliminary findings are confirmed, the Commission will adopt decisions designating Amazon and Microsoft as gatekeepers for their cloud computing services. In that case, Amazon and Microsoft would have six months to ensure full compliance of their designated cloud computing services with the DMA’s obligations.