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azure licensing

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Discussions on WindowsForum.com about Azure licensing focus on antitrust investigations and competitive practices. Threads cover the FTC probe into Microsoft's bundling of Azure with software and AI, Japan's JFTC inquiry into licensing terms that may steer customers toward Azure, and the amended Microsoft-OpenAI deal ending exclusivity. A guide to Azure Virtual Desktop also touches on licensing considerations. Recurring themes include how Microsoft's licensing of Windows Server, Microsoft 365, and other software affects cloud competition, with regulators examining whether contractual conditions unfairly disadvantage rivals like AWS and Google Cloud.
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    EU DMA Push Targets AWS and Azure as Cloud Gatekeepers: What Windows IT Teams Need

    The European Union is moving toward treating Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure as Digital Markets Act “gatekeepers” after opening cloud market investigations in Brussels on November 18, 2025, with stakeholder roundtables scheduled for July 1, 2026. The decision is not merely another...
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    • ai and portability ai dependency ai infrastructure ai sovereignty ai workloads aws aws and azure aws azure aws azure dma aws azure regulation aws competition aws gatekeeper azure azure and aws azure aws compliance azure dma azure for windows azure gatekeeper azure licensing cloud competition cloud compliance cloud computing cloud gatekeeper cloud gatekeepers cloud governance cloud lock-in cloud regulation digital markets act enterprise ai enterprise it enterprise it strategy eu antitrust eu competition law eu competition policy eu digital markets act eu digital sovereignty eu dma eu regulation european commission european dma hyperscale ai it governance it procurement microsoft azure regulatory compliance windows admin windows it
    • Replies: 33
    • Forum: Windows News
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    FTC Antitrust Probe: Does Microsoft Use Azure and AI Bundling to Lock Rivals Out?

    Microsoft is facing a widening Federal Trade Commission antitrust investigation, begun in 2024 and still active in 2026, that is examining whether the company used Azure, software licensing, bundling, and AI-related product strategies to unfairly disadvantage cloud and software rivals. The...
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    • ai bundling azure licensing enterprise it microsoft antitrust
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
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    Microsoft OpenAI Deal Changes: No More Model Exclusivity, Compute Becomes the Moat

    Microsoft and OpenAI have not truly “broken up,” but they have ended the arrangement that made their partnership the symbolic center of the generative AI boom. The amended agreement removes the most important exclusivity barriers: OpenAI can now serve products across any cloud provider, while...
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    • ai compute capacity azure licensing datacenter infrastructure openai partnership
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
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    Japan Probes Microsoft Cloud Practices: JFTC Antitrust Inquiry on Azure and Licensing

    Japan’s competition watchdog has opened a formal probe of Microsoft’s cloud business, focusing on whether commercial and technical conditions tied to Microsoft 365, Windows Server and other key software steer customers toward Azure and disadvantage rival cloud platforms — and the agency has...
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    • antitrust antitrust regulation azure cloud azure licensing cloud competition cloud licensing cloud regulation japan antitrust japan market microsoft cloud regulatory review
    • Replies: 2
    • Forum: Windows News
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    Japan JFTC Probes Microsoft Licensing Ties to Azure in Dawn Raid

    Japan’s competition enforcers have executed an on-site inspection of Microsoft’s Japanese offices after local media and international reporting said the Japan Fair Trade Commission (JFTC) is investigating whether Microsoft improperly limited customers’ ability to run Microsoft software on rival...
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    • antitrust antitrust enforcement antitrust licensing antitrust probe antitrust regulation antitrust regulators azure azure cloud azure competition azure licensing cloud competition cloud computing antitrust cloud licensing cloud market cloud regulation clouds competition law competition regulation dawn raid enforcement japan japan antitrust japan antitrust cloud japan competition japan jftc japan regulation jftc jftc japan jftc probe licensing practices software microsoft azure microsoft azure competition microsoft japan microsoft japan licensing microsoft licensing multi cloud market multi-cloud multicloud competition regulators regulatory crackdown
    • Replies: 17
    • Forum: Windows News
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    Azure Virtual Desktop Guide: Simplify, Secure, and Optimize Your Remote Desktops

    There comes a pivotal moment in every IT department’s journey when the question quietly arises over the morning coffee and under the fluorescent hum: “Should we finally give Azure Virtual Desktop a real try?” If you’ve been loyally tending your Citrix farms or tiptoeing through a VMware...
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    • autoscaling avd azure licensing azure monitor azure networking azure virtual desktop cloud automation cloud migration cloud security cloud workspaces iac it infrastructure microsoft 365 microsoft azure remote access remote work vdi virtual desktops virtual machine
    • Replies: 0
    • Forum: Windows News
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