Microsoft attracts negative attention in UK due to software bundling

Once again, the competition is not happy with Microsoft's family of software.

What you need to know

• A new report indicates that the UK's Competition and Markets Authority is actively listening to Microsoft rivals regarding their complaints that Microsoft's bundling practices have grown too dangerous.
• The core of rivals' issue with Microsoft is that by the company emphasizing the interconnectedness of OneDrive, Office, and Microsoft Teams with Windows, it's making it harder for rival companies to get their own communications, productivity, and storage platforms in the limelight for PC users to see.
• Similar complaints have been made in the EU as well as by major companies, including Slack.

Tell us if you've heard this one before: Microsoft's bundling practices are irking rivals and attracting government attention. That should sound familiar, as recently an entire coalition of small companies (relatively speaking) formally asked the EU to step in and put a stop to Microsoft's current bundling behaviors. Not to mention, similar complaints have also been made by major companies such as Slack.

The gist of the most recent complaints, this time linked with the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), is much the same as the others (via The Telegraph). Rivals are concerned that OneDrive, Teams, Office, and Windows are all bound too closely together, leaving little room for competing software to have a fair shot.

The CMA is actively listening to these complaints and chatting with Microsoft rivals to hear their side of the story, an action that may ultimately precede an investigation or formal review. However, neither avenue of escalation has been announced at this time.

If the UK's CMA sounds familiar, it's because it recently made the news regarding its NVIDIA-Arm merger report, wherein it outlined a multitude of concerns with the deal. Not long after, the U.S.'s FTC upped the ante and sued to have the merger halted.