Microsoft has accused Google of building a lobby front in Europe to take action against Microsoft. In a blog post dated Oct. 28, Rima Alaily, Microsoft corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, described the recently founded Open Cloud Coalition (OCC), allegedly financed and controlled by Google, as an “astroturf group.” Its sole aim, according to Alaily, is to discredit Microsoft with competition authorities and political decision-makers and to mislead the public.
The Open Cloud Coalition apparently launched on Oct. 29, one day after Alaily’s allegation. Founding members of the OCC include international companies such as Centerprise, Civo, Gigas, and Google, as well as British companies such as ControlPlane, DTP Group, Prolinx, Pulsant, Clairo, and Room 101.
“The OCC is committed to promoting openness, interoperability and fair competition across the cloud landscape and fostering a more innovative, transparent, resilient, and secure cloud ecosystem that benefits customers in the UK, EU and beyond,” the association says. The European competition authorities have been called upon to be “rigorous and bold” in their ongoing review of the cloud sector.
