Amazon, Google slam Microsoft’s cloud computing changes

BRUSSELS, Sept 01 (Reuters): Amazon and Alphabet unit Google criticised Microsoft's cloud computing changes on Tuesday, saying they limit competition and discourage customers from switching to rival cloud service providers.
The US software giant on Monday announced amended licensing deals and other changes that will take effect on Oct. 1 and which they say will make it easier for cloud service providers to compete.
Amazon, Google, Alibaba and Microsoft's own cloud services will be excluded from the deals.
Microsoft's move came after smaller European Union competitors took their grievances about its cloud service practices to EU antitrust regulators, which subsequently quizzed market players on the issue and what impact they have experienced.
Amazon, the leading cloud service provider trailed by Microsoft and Google, was scathing in its critiques.
"Microsoft is now doubling-down on the same harmful practices by implementing even more restrictions in an unfair attempt to limit the competition it faces - rather than listening to its customers and restoring fair software licensing in the cloud for everyone," a spokesperson for its cloud service unit AWS said in an email.
Google's vice president for government affairs and policy Google Cloud Marcus Jadotte was equally critical.
"The promise of the cloud is flexible, elastic computing without contractual lock-ins," he said in a tweet.
"Customers should be able to move freely across platforms and choose the technology that works best for them, rather than what works best for Microsoft," Jadotte said.
Meanwhile, the owner of McDonald's former restaurants in Russia has offered up to 151 million euros ($151 million) to buy Finnish packaging firm Huhtamaki's local business, adding to his burgeoning empire, documents seen by Reuters showed.
The deal by Siberian businessman Alexander Govor enhances his status as one of the major corporate winners to emerge from the sanctions-inflicted turmoil that followed Russia's military intervention in Ukraine.
Govor said he had paid a "symbolic" sum for McDonald's Corp restaurants in Russia when relaunching under a new brand, Vkusno & tochka, which translates as "Tasty and that's it", in June.
He is set to buy Huhtamaki's Russian business using a loan from state lender Sberbank and a Cyprus-registered company, Espentina Limited, the documents showed and a source close to the deal said.